in Dogpatch somewhere?  What was he thinking?  If that's the truth then good thing Webb spoke up for himself.  And look how it's benefitted the Senate to have Webb where he is.  He's got Condi and company on the run, now.

Of course he deserves an "A" spot!  Name one other figure in the senate with the military experience and expertiece that Jim Webb has.  He's our Scoop Jackson.

Seriously.  Name just ONE DEMOCRAT who even compares to Webb on Foreign Policy.

Hell man, I want all of the Freshman Dems to get an "A" spot, after all, they don't have the same positions as the DLC in safe districts Dems and that's why we love them!

Webb especially, I mean Sec. of the Navy, why should he take a back seat from some antiquated pecking order established within?

Great find, Lowell; once again, we learn that our own U. S. Senator Jim Webb is not all that concerned about the tradition of starting out with some lesser senatorial committee assignments and working his way up to the more preferred and effective ones.

This nation doesn't have years to allow its Jim Webbs to come to the forefront, and we also need to thank Harry Reid for recognizing this in making committee assignments and choosing the right Democrat to respond to the President's SOTU address.

Tradition is fine and has its place as long as it doesn't interfere with the more pressing real-world demands, needs, practicalities and realities.

And, of course, we all know that - especially in the world of government and politics - Jim Webb is the real deal.

Thanks!

Steve

First, much of the 'reporting' by Time political writers has been inaccurate recently. 

When Webb appeared on Lou Dobbs shortly after the election, Dobbs asked him about committee assignments.  Webb said that the next day was the day new Senators were to submit their requests, and that he would be asking for positions on armed services and foreign relations, but also an economics committee.

As it turned out, that's what he got.  So it's not as the Time story presents:
When he called Virginia's Senator Jim Webb to inform him of his committee assignments--the standard backwater spots that junior members are usually consigned to--Webb demanded "A" assignments on both Armed Services and Foreign Relations.

Webb had already requested (not demanded) those spots, in the normal process for new senators, and had made his requests public when directly asked about them. I doubt very much that Reid just ignored the requests, much less given their airing on Lou Dobbs CNN show, and tried to foist off other committees.

And I don't think much is gained by celebrating an image of Webb throwing his weight around.  It's not accurate, fair to Webb, or politically wise.

You're definitely right about Time Magazine not being particularly accurate in much of its reporting of late.  And if this is NOT true, then the whole story could be completely different. Anyway, it's true that we shouldn't be gloating over Jim Webb throwing his weight around, I just thought this was an interesting and amusing story...assuming Time Magazine got it right, that is.

Agreed, Lowell; from the information published above - and assuming that it is accurate - I certainly did not get the impression that Webb was "throwing his weight around", only that he made it clear that he believed there were certain committee assignments for which he would be best suited.

And that's certainly been proven true over the past four or five weeks that he's been in office.

Thanks!

Steve