(Via Instapundit) Seriously, James Webb’s gonna be 70 in 2016. Normally I’d say that’s pretty old for a Democratic Presidential candidate, except that this cycle it’s… not. Old, white, almost all male… it’s like a Bizarro version of the bubonic plague. The only Democrats that survived it were old folks with compromised immune systems.
Anyway, Webb’s officially in the race now; he’s apparently going to make a play for the anti-war vote. How this would play out in the general – given that, contra James Webb, we only started losing the war when we switched out Bush with Obama (something every Republican candidate plans to point out) – would be of interest, except that Webb won’t survive the primary. Too much… weirdness, and Webb won’t be a useful idiot for progressives this go-round, so no reason not to bring it up.
I think you’re making a mistake by selling him short.
He’s an actual populist, with blue collar credibility, and is unapologetic about being both male and white. In today’s Democratic party, that’s a breath of fresh air. Especially for the demographics who traditionally run the GOTV effort for the dems.
.
He’s honest, which puts him miles ahead of Hillary.
He’s sane, which puts him well ahead of Sanders.
He’s actually shown himself to be competent at running something. (Which is a decided advantage over every other Democrat running.)
.
Oh yes, and Hillary is afraid of him. She has tried to sabotage his announcement on several occasions, which is why it kept getting pushed back.
.
Writing him off as anti-war on that excerpt is a bit of a stretch. The benefit of hindsight makes his statement about the Iraq war uncontroversial.
Then he hung Libya around Hillary’s neck.
But has certainly not declared himself to be a pacifist.
He would have been taken a lot more seriously if he’d criticized Obama and Hillary in 2003 or 2004, when it became obvious that both Obamacare and our foreign relations were going Tango Uniform. He might have made an impression on the public as a sane Democrat who would work to undo the damage from the current administration. But noooooooooooo. Now? He’s an unknown also-ran. Joe Biden (godhelpus!) will get more buzz.
The thing about the Democrats is that they stick together. I think they viewed it as a “teachable moment” when Ted Kennedy challenged a sitting president of his own party in 1980. Trouble with that policy is that sometimes they should criticize their own.
Whoops! Make that “in 2013 or 2014” — my fingers weren’t connected to my brain very well.