NY Observer > Jim Webb

The Netroots' Massa Lays Out Veteran Health Care Plan

Katharine Jose — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:53:04 -0400

From tireless intern Bharat Ayyar:

Congressional hopeful Eric Massa, a retired Navy commander, held a conference call with reporters this morning, and outlined his plan for veteran health care, which he says has been neglected by Washington.
“I don’t care how much it costs. I don’t care,” Massa said. He added later, “Supporting our veterans is not a matter of cost. It’s a matter of political will.”

Massa, who raised an impressive sum of $298,156 during the filing period that just ended, wants to introduce legislation that would not only mandate full funding of the Veterans Administration but also permit veterans who are too far from a V. read more »

John Edwards and Club of Two-Time Running Mates

Steve Kornacki — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:52:14 -0400

John Edwards could have taken the Jim Webb route when NPR grilled him yesterday about his interest in reprising his role as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, but instead he said this: "I am prepared to seriously consider anything, anything he asks me to do for our country."

If Barack Obama were to choose Edwards, it would create an unusual situation in American politics. Very rarely does a losing vice presidential nominee land on someone else's ticket in a future election. Edwards would be the fourth person ever to do this, and the first since 1916.

The others: read more »

Webb Out of VP Mix; Now Only One Virginia Contender Left

Steve Kornacki — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:22:52 -0400

This post has it right: No one saw this one coming. Senator Jim Webb, the former Republican and Reagan-era Navy secretary who has been touted as the perfect tough-guy complement to Barack Obama, unexpectedly and very publicly withdrew his name from VP consideration today.

The most immediate beneficiary of this could be Tim Kaine, the first-term governor of Virginia, which has emerged as perhaps the preeminent swing state of this cycle. Republicans have carried it in every election since 1964, but the Old Dominion's demographic evolution strongly favors the Democrats. Polls this year have shown Obama even with -- or even slightly ahead of -- John McCain. read more »

Declaration of Independence

Ana Marie Cox — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:22:46 -0400

A TIME TO FIGHT: RECLAIMING A FAIR AND JUST AMERICA
By Jim Webb
Broadway, 255 pages, $24.95

Jim Webb is often mentioned as a possible running mate for Barack Obama. As a former Republican, his presence would lend substance to Mr. Obama’s talk of bipartisanship; as a senator from red-trending-purple Virginia, he might give Democrats a chance to take some electoral votes from the Republican column. He’s for an expedited withdrawal from Iraq, but he has the same—if not more impressive—military bona fides than those we all thought would save John Kerry, and without the taint of careerism.

But the strongest argument for a Webb vice presidency is the entertaining possibility that he’d eventually break off and start his own republic. read more »

What Jim Webb Is Worth to Obama

Steve Kornacki — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:25:47 -0400

Now is the season for idle vice presidential speculation, and this year the field of potential nominees in both parties is unusually large.

Among Democrats, much of the chatter is understandably focused on Hillary Clinton, who, to judge from some revealing public comments from key supporters, wouldn’t mind being offered a spot on Barack Obama’s ticket. read more »

The VP Stakes: If It's Obama Vs. McCain, Who Runs With Them?

Steve Kornacki — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:37:19 -0500

Though the Democratic nomination has yet to be decided, Barack Obama and John McCain have begun acting very much as if the general election has already started, exchanging direct criticisms and sizing each other up. And, while neither has talked publicly about it at this early stage, both men are doubtless pondering the running-mate question.

In a matchup with Obama, McCain would face two potentially conflicting imperatives with his choice of a vice presidential candidate. read more »

Against Big Losses and a Pro-Obama Crowd, Hillary Stands Her Ground

Jason Horowitz — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 12:21:46 -0500

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 10—If the receptions Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton respectively received at a gathering of influential Democrats last night in Richmond is any indication, Clinton is in for another tough result when Virginia holds its primary on Tuesday.

The stark difference in enthusiasm was noticeable even in passing. Outside the Stuart C. Siegel Center, which played host to the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, a couple hundred of Obama supporters beating drums, wearing paper Obama masks and holding giant white letters spelling Obama’s name urged passing cars to honk. Many of them did.

A quieter group of Hillary supporters had less success. read more »

Jim Webb’s Window of Opportunity

Steve Kornacki — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:49:05 -0400

Some Democrats have talked up the Virginian as the future of the national party, a role for which the party might be seen as grooming him. read more »

Graham Runs Into an Angry Webb Down Iraq Memory Lane

Steve Kornacki — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:36:06 -0400

Now that the campaign of John McCain has evaporated, it’s almost certain that next year’s Republican nominee will not make a full-strength, years-long military push aimed at “victory” in Iraq the centerpiece of the G.O.P.’s fall ’08 message. read more »

Virginia's Other Candidate

Observer Staff — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 05:00:00 -0500

The day after the election -- as the AP was declaring victory for the Democrats in Virginia and, therefore, the Senate -- the less-talked-about candidate in that squeaker of a race was on her way to Oklahoma, to check on one of her daughters who had been having health problems.

Glenda Gail Parker, a grandmother who received 26,102 votes on a pro-rails independent/conservative green ticket, said that not a single voter has asked her about "vote-splitting" in a race where a mere 7217 votes put the Democratic candidate, Jim Webb, above the Republican, George Allen. Some reporters certainly had asked, she said.

"We're very pleased that we had a very strong impact on this election," Ms. Parker said last night. "We feel that more participation is what our process needs, rather than less."

During the election, Ms. Parker said she went to both candidates and offered them criteria for endorsement. Neither major party candidate met those criteria, so Ms. Parker settled on making a public statement: "That if folks could not vote for us because we were too conservative," she said, "then for goodness sakes vote for a positive change. But we did say vote for change!"

A bit over 2.36 million votes have been recorded in the Virgina Senate election. Virginia has about 5.7 million residents over the age of 18.

Ms. Parker said she has begun organizing for future elections already. "We're recruiting candidates," she said. "We need 100 across the state, and 40 for State Senate, and candidates for local offices to advocate for rail and for a balanced budget."

-- Choire Sicha