Jim Webb--Reluctant Politician, A Needed Voice


As we expected,to no surprise to anyone,the GOP campaign in various
areas has gotten a little nasty. Losing sucks and these guys
know they are on the short end of the loser stick. That they
would go to pond scum level is absolutly no surprise to
anyone who has followed their recent past under Slimemaster in Chief Karl Rove,one of whose proteges was responsible for the bile surfacing in Tennesee. That being said ,this is not about Karl Rove or his mini legions of Gollums ready to wallow in bile. This about Jim Webb. And the most recent attack launched.He's been featured here before as the race he is running to unseat
George Allen is one of the vital ones. Webbs already won one victory for the Democratic
Party. After this campaign Allens Presidential hopes have all but disappeared. He does ,however
Defiant Iraq War Foe Defined by Vietnam - washingtonpost.com
remain a threat to win re-election. The washingtonpost.com has a story about Webb that came out today. It reveals,to no ones surprise,that he has taken some controversial stands and hurt a few peoples feelings along the way. And he has. What he has also done is learn from mistakes and realize that things change as times change. For example,Webb at one time took a stand on women in combat that I,both as an NCO who has trained and led women soldiers and as someone married to an NCO who has served in operations as a soldier-not a female soldier,am quite opposed to. I recognize,partly as someone whose service has bridged this issue,that the views were rooted in a service mindset that was very much a response to it's times,and slow to adapt. Those who rail against Webb on this matter forget it was the military that most adapted and led the way towards integration. And that from a background that was rife with odious racism. But they got their marching orders and they changed.And they led. Webb changed on his views on women in the military. Because the military changed. His military. He may not have worn the uniform since his wounds in Viet Nam cut short the career he set forth on but Jim Webb is a Marine. Always and forever.

That was one career. It is another that has been raised by the trolls in windowless offices that toil for Rove. That is his work as a novelist. Webb has written many books. Some of them very good. Read a few myself. As a serviceman I saw stories that were written by someone with the experiance of the world. Those of the cloistered,gated communities of Republicantown seem to think there is something untoward in his stories,the product of a deviant mind,unfit for office. Sad. In some countries they revere writers.Some even elect them,not only to office,but to the leadership of the nation. Remember Vaclav Havel? I guess it comes down to the Republican't fear of the written word and the power it contains. and the fear that those who are practitioners of the written word are somehow unclean.

Jim Webb is not a candidates candidate. He's not slick. He's not glib. He was a combat Marine.( George Allen was a mediocre football player. I don't know what his exuse for never putting a uniform on is but I will go out on a limb and say it was probably self serving ) He's going to hurt some feelings from time to time.
He is not a natural politician. He is a reluctant one.The best kind. But he knows he is a needed one. And his time is now. He is ready to serve again. And with a lot of hard work he will be the next Senator from Virginia.