I received a copy of this month's Washingtonian article on Jim Webb, entitled "No More Combat Boots." It's a very interesting article (not online, unfortunately), including insights into how the "maverick Jim Webb has turned out to be more of a savvy operator than expected." As Webb confidently says, "I know how to make decisions and I know how to lead."
Yeah, you can say THAT again! No wonder why Webb has become a star in the U.S. Senate after just a year, mentioned by many as a possible running mate on the Democratic ticket, and with a major legislative victory under his belt (the Webb-McCaskill "modern day Truman committee").
With that, here are a few highlights from the article.
*Steve Jarding says that Webb is "a very intriguing individual" who "becomes more intriguing all the time." You can say that again, Steve! :)
*The story about how Webb "put this whole thing to bed" regarding his "How's your boy"/none of your business confrontation with President Bush in November 2006.
*I love this paragraph:
[Webb's] taken a growing interest in prison reform and the number of African-Americans behind bars. It's a topic that doesn't get much attention in Washington and may seem incongruous for a man who refers to himself, with only modest irony, as a redneck. But it's in character for Webb, who wrote four years ago that the key to revolutionizing American politics lay in bringing working-class Scots-Irish whites together with blacks.
"Bringing working-class Scots-Irish whites together with blacks," eh? Hmmmm....how on earth [cough cough Barack Obama] could we [cough cough Webb as running mate] do that?
*Speaking of Webb as a potential running mate, the Washingtonian article has this to say:
What [Webb] would bring is an articulate military voice against the war and a brawny image with the potential to attract moderate-to-conservative swing voters, especially men, who identify with Webb's pro-gun, pro-defense, red blooded Americanism. That could add dimension to a ticket headed by either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
Steve Jarding adds that Webb's on the VP list "because of his unique position to counter what the Republicans are saying, accusing Democrats of being soft on foreign policy or the war." Jarding adds, "With Jim, you can't do that."
No disagreement here. Go Obama-Webb! Whoops, two small details -- we have to make sure Barack Obama wins the nomination, and then Obama has to convince Webb to sign on as his running mate. Would Webb agree to that? The last two paragraphs of the Washingtonian article are extremely intriguing in that regard:
Webb has said that he could lead a grand realignment of American politics if people would just listen to what he has to say. That sort of self image suggests his ambitions might not be limited to the Senate, a chamber full of men, and at least one woman, convinced that they could do greater things at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue."The frustration of the Senate is that it's slow," says Webb, gesturing at a monitor behind his desk that is displaying a live shot of the Senate floor. "It looks like an aquarium."
Sounds a bit like George Allen's "wounded sea slug" comment before he decided to run for President. In Webb's case, I would anticipate a much happier ending to the story, however. :)
Anyone who has seen Webb in action knows that he can do that in a powerful way, being firm without being nasty. Go back and watch him eviserate Lindsay Graham on MTP a few months ago.
The only thing that gives me pause is the post of a few days ago, that Webb's approval rating in his own state is below 50%.
Any chance he might tap Moran or Deeds for the seat, perhaps removing the potential for a battle in 2009? I have no idea if either would be interested -- just floating the idea.
Actually, I would be surprised if Webb ran for a second term in the Senate anyhow. Assuming that the war is over by then.
However, i certainly hope Webb runs for a second term if the candidate passes him over.
We're heavily favored to win seats in the Senate anyway, so Jim as the VP nominee should not be a problem. You just wouldn't want the next President to make a habit of plucking people out of the Senate like the last Democratic President did.
If, on the other hand, you think like I do and that a large segment of Virginians are independents and they tend to disapprove of Senator Jim Webb, that's kind of actually a problem that at some point ought to be addressed, rather than rationalized away.
Add to this the fact that the Republican Party has expertly practiced a Block & Blame strategy to the Senate's Democratic Legislative initiatives and you don't exactly get a clear picture of performance and/or acceptance to that performance.
Other than that, yeah I don't know shit and all of the banter here is CONJECTURE. My conjecture comes from reading a lot of editorials and blog responses surrounding Senator Webb. There is clearly a strong anti-Webb faction out there which reflects a kind of Allen / Gilmore partisanship (radical right) at it's best / or worst depending on your orientation.
I figure Dogood that you might live in NOVA which might as well be another state. Because the rest of Virginia polls 60/40 Republican and for me (living in an area like that) .... any number over 40 is a good thing.
Webb has been hovering between 50-52% in SUSA polls all year. And SUSA has been the gold standard these last few years. They were dead-on in 2004 and with most of the 2006 numbers. Accept the facts.
I'm a huge fan of Jim Webb. I busted my ass for him in 2006 and I'd do it all over again. But it is a fact that for some reason he polls only around 50% in Virginia. I do think that there might be something to the notion that it's bad blood over the Allen defeat. After all, Allen was an incumbent who was very well-liked by the opposition and for whom 49% of the votes were cast.
I think that Jim Webb has distinguished himself enough nationally to be a major asset to an Obama ticket, regardless of his lack of huge popularity at home. He's the party's leading voice on policy in Iraq and he is our only really credible voice on defense issues right now. Wesley Clark should be such a voice in theory, but in practice the only thing he's stuck his head up for in the last year was to endorse Hillary Clinton. Webb is the best candidate we have for strengthening Barack Obama against attacks from McCain for being weak on defense.
Anyhow I've said this before, that the only way you could get Jim to run as a VP is if a deal was brokered where he could have / make ..... a major impact on the body politic... which of course would be taking on the "realignment" mission foreshadowed in Born Fighting.
That said it doesn't really work if Clinton or Edwards were at the helm as it doesn't track with their campaign themes. Edwards is Fighting for sure (as in taking a Mudcat cue from Born Fighting) and Clinton is Managing (as in the queen of wonkery).
Only Obama is campaigning for large scale Change which is really a reform / realignment of our political discourse - the anti-polarity campaign. Within that context, and with an African American as the principal partner .... well that's where it starts getting poetic and I think my favorite Senator would like that story line .... it would be challenging any day of the week .... the odds would be against such a romantic vision.
And that's precisely why he would take the chance. Notice I didn't say jump at the chance .... he really doesn't like the whole campaign thing and the burden on the family which comes with the job.
But just like Draft James Webb ... with Jarding telling him his chances of winning were 15% ... It certainly would be the Right thing to Do!!
So I hope all those Super Tuesday kids get the Kennedy message and get on board the Change Train .... because this thing could really work and we need a HUGE antidote to 8 years of Dubya and Dickhead.
I shudder to think of George Allen running again to regain that seat after he's put some distance between himself and the '06 fiasco. Having to fight again so we can keep that seat in Democratic hands would be a REAL pain.
We've got a deep bench now. Relax. Tim Kaine or Creigh Deeds or possibly Chap Peterson could hold that seat for us against George Allen.
And what an up-side! Vice President Jim Webb! Possibly President Jim Webb down the road. Being VP usually locks up the nomination for President when the time comes.
Look, I too invested a lot of time and money into supporting his candidacy, and have no question that he was the far better candidate in the primary and general elections. But I don't think it does anyone any good to push on with this silly canonization of a first term senator. Is is good? Yeah. Could he be better? Hell yeah. My recommendation? Focus on pushing him to be better, instead of this uncritical and reliable praise that seems emanate from RK.