Senator Webb Doesn't Sit Well With Right Wing
Conservative strategists are miffed that newly elected Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia will deliver the formal Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address tonight.
Webb got into a dustup with Bush during a reception a few weeks ago when the president asked about Webb's son, Jimmy, a Marine serving in Iraq. The senator brushed off the commander in chief and curtly expressed his desire that Bush work to bring the troops home.
Conservative strategists say the freshman legislator wasn't properly deferential to the president, and they don't appreciate the fact that he will be given extensive media exposure tonight. But Democrats are holding their ground. They argue that Webb, a Vietnam combat veteran in the Marines and former Navy secretary under President Ronald Reagan, will be an excellent spokesman for Americans who oppose the Iraq war.
"We will no longer cede to Republicans the national security issue," says a Democratic strategist. "We're tired of being portrayed as a bunch of wimps who never served in battle."
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