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 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.
"When most men hit 60, they buy a red Corvette," says Chris LaCivita, a Republican political consultant. "Jim Webb became a liberal Democrat."
Sen. Webb's latest mission is to expand his influence into what he calls "economic fairness." Calling himself a Reagan Democrat, Sen. Webb says the Democrats, to their detriment, have ignored the military, poor whites and Southerners in recent decades, but that is starting to change.
To broaden his populist appeal, Sen. Webb recently has been talking about financial and consumer issues. In the past week, at a Senate hearing on foreign relations, he criticized the fact that foreign countries have been investing government money in U.S. financial firms. Earlier this month he visited a Richmond, Va., food bank, where he lambasted the rising cost of food and gasoline.
The next morning, as a keynote speaker at the state's Democratic convention, Sen. Webb talked about the recent passage of the GI bill. "Some told me to wait my turn, let others -- more experienced -- do it," he said. "But I didn't back down!"
The crowd began clapping and chanting, "VP! VP! VP!" Sen. Webb pumped his fist in the air and strode off the stage.
Has Webb said things I don't agree with? Hell yes. Does it matter? Hell no.
This is a good man and it's time we have more (any!) of those in the White House.
Webb is a long shot to be picked for Veep, or to accept, but he would be a damn good choice. Of course, speaking as a 62-year-old recently tattooed redneck Librul Democrat Marine with an attitude, I might be just the teensiest bit biased...
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