Jim Webb for Vice President Today, and President Tomorrow

Jim Webb for Vice President Today, and President Tomorrow

By Brent Budowsky

Created Sep 28 2007 - 12:56pm

Every so often in Washington a figure rises who is exceptional,

extraordinary and destined for great things. Many in the Congress and

national politics have great acts but beneath the surface are more of the

same, with better wrapping. Others are special. Jim Webb is very special.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) is not only a military hero, but one of the truly

great heroes of the American military. This is no exaggeration.

The magnitude of his heroism, valor, courage under fire and leadership in

war were light-years beyond the call of duty, which made his brilliant

arguments against the Iran war fever being drummed up by Sens. Joe Lieberman

(I-Conn.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and the neoconservative salons so hard-hitting.

In one of the more extraordinary moments in the history of the Senate, Sen.

John Warner, Webb's Republican colleague from Virginia - and his fellow

former Marine and former secretary of the U.S. Navy - demonstrated the

difference between business as usual and the kind of profound sense of honor

that is so rare in American politics today.

Webb offered an extremely important amendment that would have rationalized

troop rotation schedules for Americans serving in Iraq.

Evincing the highest tradition of the Senate, and the highest ideal of

honorable bipartisanship, to win Sen. Warner's support, Webb made key

changes to his amendment. Webb moved back the effective date to give the

military a few months to plan, as Warner requested. Webb also exempted

special forces from the amendment, as Warner requested.

Sen. Warner agreed to support the Webb amendment.

Sen. Warner then reneged.

Apparently Sen. Warner, after serving in the Senate for 29 years, after

having been chairman of the Armed Services Committee when Republicans were

in control, after having served in the Marine Corps and as secretary of the

Navy - after all this, he did not know enough about troop rotations when he

agreed, before reneging, to support the Webb amendment.

Sen. Warner represents business as usual in Washington, D.C., and in my

humble opinion, would never have supported, and will never support, any

change in U.S. policy in Iraq that has a realistic chance of coming into

effect.

Sen. Warner's role in this Republican kabuki is not to change the policy,

but to offer Senate Republicans the opportunity to pretend they want to

change the policy. Yet once change is possible, he, and they, will renege

every time (excepting a handful of profiles in courage such as Nebraska Sen.

Chuck Hagel).

While Democrats could certainly perform more strongly, the reason the war

continues unabated is 97 percent because of Republicans such as Warner. And

the best of hope of ending this catastrophe is to put the fear of God in the

Senate Republicans that they will be defeated, and then to defeat them.

Sen. Webb, by contrast, is a conviction politician and a leader who knows

who he is, why he came to Washington, and what he wants to do. He is equally

comfortable looking George W. Bush in the eye and telling him what he really

thinks, and working in good faith with Sen. Warner, though that good faith,

obviously, was not reciprocated.

Listening to Sen. Warner's near-worshipful speech heaping praise and honors

on Jim Webb, using extravagant language to describe Webb's heroism and

statesmanship, at the very moment Warner announced his reneging, was both

surreal and revealing.

Warner came to praise Webb, while he voted to bury him. Webb conducted

himself with dignity, honor, professionalism, statesmanship, leadership and

honesty.

Warner is business as usual. Webb is business the way democracy in America

ought to be.

Warner is the Senate at its worst. Webb is the Senate the Founding Fathers

intended when they wrote the Constitution.

Warner is the Senate of maneuver, calculation and timidity. Webb is the

Senate of conviction, political courage and principle.

To Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Richardson, Biden, Dodd, Kucinich and Gravel or

whoever the Democrats will nominate for president, it is time to put Jim

Webb at the top of the list.

Jim Webb for vice president today.

Jim Webb for president tomorrow.

At last, a leader.

[Editor's note: Brent asks that you crosspost your comments at The Hill,

where this blog post also appears. [1]]

_______

About author Brent Budowsky served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator

Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including

one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative

Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of

Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of

the Intelligence Summit. Left goverment in 1990 for marketing and public

affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent

management. He can be reached at brentbbi@webtv.net [2].

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"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their

spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their

government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are

suffering deeply in spirit,

and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public

debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have

patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning

back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at

stake."

-Thomas Jefferson