Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Virginia's Tangled Webb
Virginia just became an interesting state to watch -- as we thought it might several months ago. James Webb won the Democratic Senate nomination last night. He now faces incumbent Sen. George Allen.
Webb's name recognition, standing as a former Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, while being a harsh critic of the Bush Iraq policy will force Allen to spend more time in the state on his re-election campaign than he would have liked.
Allen is still easily the favorite; the primary campaign exposed Webb as something of a halting, rookie, candidate. And John Kerry -- who supported Webb -- demonstrated that just being a veteran and an apparent "expert" on military affairs doesn't necessarily mean the voters will accept your anti-war narrative.
Furthermore, Webb will have to figure out where he stands on non-defense and security areas.
Still, Allen can't just raise money with an eye toward '08. And, the possibility still exists that Allen might be forced to ask potential '08 rival John McCain to come in to the state to help blunt some of Webb's military appeal. Won't that be a delicious irony?
The Washington Post's political blogger Chris Clizza has further thoughts.
Technorati Tags: politics, U.S. Senate, James Webb, George Allen
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Webb's name recognition, standing as a former Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, while being a harsh critic of the Bush Iraq policy will force Allen to spend more time in the state on his re-election campaign than he would have liked.
Allen is still easily the favorite; the primary campaign exposed Webb as something of a halting, rookie, candidate. And John Kerry -- who supported Webb -- demonstrated that just being a veteran and an apparent "expert" on military affairs doesn't necessarily mean the voters will accept your anti-war narrative.
Furthermore, Webb will have to figure out where he stands on non-defense and security areas.
Still, Allen can't just raise money with an eye toward '08. And, the possibility still exists that Allen might be forced to ask potential '08 rival John McCain to come in to the state to help blunt some of Webb's military appeal. Won't that be a delicious irony?
The Washington Post's political blogger Chris Clizza has further thoughts.
Technorati Tags: politics, U.S. Senate, James Webb, George Allen
