Sen. Jim Webb... Is Emerging As the Democrats' Military Point Man

Arming Obama
Sen. Jim Webb -- Vietnam Vet, 'Redneck' -- Is Emerging
As the Democrats' Military Point Man; The 'VP!' Chant
By MONICA LANGLEY
June 21, 2008


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With his two Purple Hearts, three tattoos and spoiling-for-a-fight attitude, Sen. Jim Webb is emerging as the Democrats' point man on two of the most profound matters facing the electorate this November: national defense and the military.

A highly decorated war veteran who opposes the Iraq war, Sen. Webb is considered by many Democrats to be the best person to go into battle against another war hero, expected Republican nominee Sen. John McCain. The ex-Marine, who hails from the important swing state of Virginia, could also become Sen. Barack Obama's go-to person on national security, where the Democratic presidential candidate's résumé is weak compared with rival Sen. McCain's.

His rising star has been enhanced by the expected passage of a GI bill he championed, which provides money for veterans to go to college, and which President Bush recently accepted despite his earlier veto threat. All that makes Sen. Webb one of the most talked-about possible vice-presidential contenders.

Yet, Sen. Webb, a politician for less than two years, could be a risky combatant for the Democratic party. The 62-year-old lawmaker and novelist has a zeal that sometimes defies political niceties: He didn't shake President Bush's hand when the president asked about his son's deployment to Iraq. Some of his views aren't politically correct. He contends that "poor whites" are an oppressed class, and defends Confederate soldiers for fighting for state sovereignty.

A spokeswoman says Sen. Webb "speaks artfully about complex issues that many politicians shy away from, and it's his authenticity that is so compelling."

The self-described "redneck" occasionally carries a concealed pistol, and is still suspect to some Democrats for having served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration. He speaks fluent Vietnamese with his third wife, a lawyer who fled Vietnam as a girl and whom he calls his "warrior queen." He takes long walks in Arlington Cemetery, stopping recently to place a rock on the headstone of Sen. McCain's father, a tradition that signals respect for the dead.

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Three-piece suit with his son's old army boots, which he wore during his '06 campaign.

I think he'd make a hell of a bulldog VP for Obama, but I also think he'd be just as (if not more) valuable smacking around senators. One way or the other, it's the new blood in Washington that is going to drag us out of this quagmire.