NEW YORK TIMES: Former Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has announced a presidential exploratory committee, becoming the first candidate in either party to take such an overt step toward a White House bid. He called for economic justice and a restrained foreign policy, and vowed to “re-establish a transparent, functioning governmental system in our country.”
Mr. Webb, a Democrat who served one term in the Senate, disclosed his intentions late Wednesday in a video and a four-page letter posted on a newwebsite. In his statement, he acknowledged the great difficulty he would face seeking the nomination of a party that seems poised to support Hillary Rodham Clinton, if she runs…
He served as secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan but found political success in 2006 as a Democrat who was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war. He defeated the incumbent Republican, George Allen, helping to ensure a Democratic Senate majority… (more)
EDITOR: Hurrah for Democrats willing to throw their hats into the presidential primary ring.
We urge this for four reasons:
1) Hillary Clinton may not be physically able to run in 2014.
2) She may not choose to run
3) She might be beatable in the primaries
4) Without opposition, she would be ignored by the media during the primary season and would not be properly prepared with an experienced organization and mind set for the general campaign.
We have the first challenger to Hillary in the Democratic primaries and he is a good one. A former Secretary of the Navy (under Reagan) and US Senator from Virginia. He did not run for re-election in the senate because he saw the institution as dysfunctional (and he seems more of an executive than a legislator). He is excellent on mass incarceration and the drug war, foreign policy and the wealth divide.
KZ