Reply #9: OMG. we'd better send this man some cash, NOW. [View All]

[Duppers]

I've already sent him some and I'll dig again.

Btw, look at this pos I received in my inbox today:

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Subject: Webb Article
From: Henry Tieleman <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, Jul 5 2006 2:30:33 PM EDT
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WEBB SEEKS TO PROMOTE SENATE RUN
By Daniel Gilbert

Potomac News

Who is Jim Webb?

That depends on who you ask. To some he is a best-selling author. To others he's a war hero.

He's been a journalist and recently a Hollywood screenwriter, too.

But right now, Jim Webb would settle for recognition as the man opposing George Allen for a Senate seat in November.

So far, he reckons about 40 percent of Virginians know that Jim Webb.

Webb has three months, and a relatively paltry war chest of $1 million, to get his word out.

It's no wonder, then, that Webb, a longtime Falls Church resident, planned appearances at two parades and a festival in Northern Virginia on the nation's birthday Tuesday.

Prince William residents got a peak of the Senate challenger Tuesday, when Webb breakfasted at the firefighters' union hall in Dale City, before skipping off to events in Fairfax and Vienna.

Webb bailed on the Dale City parade at the last minute, thanks to a "logistical mishap combined with ambitious scheduling," according to Kristian Denny-Todd, his director of communications.

The race is on

Webb has a curious set of credentials for the Democratic ticket.

He served as Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan, voted for President Bush in 2000, and endorsed his current Senate rival in the same year.

How does he explain the shifting loyalties?

What shifting loyalties?

"It was a different country in 2000," he said. "I thought was going to be a strong voice on national defense.

"And here's the thing: Ronald Reagan was a Democrat, and he became a Republican. And if he was alive today, I think he'd be a Democrat again."

Webb has been most vocal about criticizing Allen's solidarity with Bush's "stay the course" policy in Iraq.

Foremost among Webb's issues are "reorganizing our defense posture, and an early and honorable end to the Iraq war."

Webb's platform also focuses on economic fairness and curbing "abuse of presidential power," but his rivals paint him as a single-issue candidate.

" makes for a very poor candidate," said Tom Kopko, chairman of the Prince William Republican Party. "He has no positions, except maybe on the war. Why is he running as a Democrat? I don't know, maybe because he couldn't get the Republican nomination."

Kopko, a Prince William resident since 1990, is confident that the county will support Allen, and dismisses Gov. Timothy Kaine's victory in the area last year as "a total fluke."

But Republicans are taking no chances. Kopko said his committee was in "full campaign mode, running as hard as we always have."

Webb didn't make it to the Dale City parade, but his rival's wife did.

Susan Allen arrived midway through the parade with her 8-year-old daughter, Brooke, waving and greeting residents along the sidewalk.

"Thank you for supporting my husband," called Allen, filling in for the senator while he rode horseback in parades in Charlottesville and Scotsville.

"That's the only way he goes through a parade," she said.

A tough sell

If you didn't get it from Webb's biography, which includes two Purple Heart medals, and his campaign slogan, "Born Fighting," the 60-year-old Vietnam veteran is a tough guy.

Moments after entering the union hall, Webb wrapped his right hand in an Ace bandage.

The injured hand sustained thousands of pound-force per square inch from a power washer when Webb was washing his car, the water entering his hand through a cut below his thumb.

"It took an hour and a half to drain," said Webb, who until this week favored a left-handed shake.

Webb wore his trademark combat boots, a calculated contrast to Allen's preferred footwear, cowboy boots.

Webb's boots are actually his son's (they share the same shoe size), who recommended the fashion statement while home from the Marines.

"Why does this guy wear cowboy boots?" Webb recalled his son telling him. "Are there any cowboys in Virginia? You should wear my boots."

Webb said his son is scheduled to leave for Iraq shortly.

Political posturing aside, there is one thing that has Webb more worried than anything else about this race: money.

"As much as I've been around politics, I never realized how much money goes into ," Webb said.

"We just passed $1 million. We'll be lucky to get half of what got."

Leslie Byrne, a former Virginia congresswoman who has endorsed Webb, also noted funding as Webb's biggest problem.

"George Allen is sitting on a pile of money," Byrne said. "The biggest hurdle Webb faces is getting enough money to get his message across."

With funds short, Webb's staff does without some of the small things, like business cards. Phillip Thompson, Webb's chief aide, passes out a handwritten note card with his contact information.
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