I am reassured -- The Democratic Leadership has not changed -- Webb wrote his speech himself.

Webb Steals State of the Union Limelight

Webb Steals State of the Union Limelight
“For the first time ever, the response to the State of the Union Message overshadowed the president's big speech,” writes Newsweek. Sen. James Webb (D-VA), “in office only three weeks, managed to convey a muscular liberalism -- with personal touches -- that left President Bush's ordinary address in the dust.”

“Webb was given a speech to read by the Democratic leadership. He threw it out and wrote his own. As a well-regarded novelist, Webb has a sense of narrative and human drama. He apparently felt that the boots his son wore in Iraq, which he used to great effect during his successful Senate campaign against Sen. George Allen, might be a bit hokey. So instead, he showed a picture of his father during the Berlin airlift. He then went on to describe taking the picture to bed every night and his family's long record of military service.”