Jim Webb

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For other persons named James Webb, see James Webb (disambiguation).

For the Canadian politician, see Jim Webb (Canada).

Jim Webb
Image:Jim Webb at rally.jpg
Senator-elect, Virginia
Term of office: term begins January 3, 2007
Political party:	Democratic
Succeeding:	George Allen
Born:	February 9, 1946 Saint Joseph, Missouri
Spouse:	Barbara Samorajczyk (div.) Jo Ann Krukar Webb (div.) Hong Le Webb
Religion:	Non-Denominational Protestant

James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is a Marine Corps veteran, former member of Ronald Reagan's administration, author, and Democratic U.S. Senator-elect from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Webb was a Marine Corps infantry officer until 1972, and is a highly decorated Vietnam War combat veteran. During his four years with the Reagan administration, Webb served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, then as Secretary of the Navy. Webb won the Democratic nomination for the 2006 Virginia Senate race by defeating Harris Miller in the primary, then won the general election by defeating the Republican incumbent, George Allen.

Webb's razor-thin margin in the general election (less than 1%) kept the outcome uncertain for nearly two days after polls closed on November 7, and provided the final seat that tilted the Senate to Democratic control.

1 Biography
2 2006 Senate campaign
3 Senator-elect
4 As an author
5 Trivia
6 Election history
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and education

Webb was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri into a military family, and descends from residents of Ulster (northern Ireland) who emigrated in the 18th century to the British North American colonies. The descendants of this immigration, the Scots-Irish Americans, are now scattered across the United States. Webb's 2004 book Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America details his own family history, and explains how he has ancestors who fought in every major American war.

Webb's father, a career officer in the U.S. Air Force, flew B-17s and B-29s during World War II, dropped cargo during the Berlin Airlift, and was later involved in missile programs. He is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Because of his father's military career, Webb grew up on the move, attending more than a dozen schools across the U.S. and in England. After graduating from high school in Bellevue, Nebraska, he attended the University of Southern California on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship from 1963-1964 (and was a member of Delta Chi). In 1964, Webb earned nomination to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. At Annapolis, Webb was a member of the Brigade Honor Committee. He graduated in 1968, in the same class with Dennis Blair and Oliver North. Other members of the Naval Academy class of 1968 include the current Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael G. Mullen, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee. Another classmate, retired Admiral Jay L. Johnson, also served as Chief of Naval Operations--the U.S. Navy's senior ranking officer. (Webb and several other Naval Academy graduates, including North and Senator John McCain, are the subject of Robert Timberg's book The Nightingale's Song.)

[edit] Military career

After graduating from Annapolis, Webb was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a first lieutenant during the Vietnam War he served as a platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines. He earned a Navy Cross, the second highest decoration in the Navy and Marine Corps for heroism in Vietnam. Webb also earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts.

Webb received the Navy Cross for actions on July 10, 1969. The citation read:

The Navy Cross is presented to James H. Webb, Jr., First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as a Platoon Commander with Company D, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 10 July 1969, while participating in a company-sized search and destroy operation deep in hostile territory, First Lieutenant Webb's platoon discovered a well-camouflaged bunker complex which appeared to be unoccupied. Deploying his men into defensive positions, First Lieutenant Webb was advancing to the first bunker when three enemy soldiers armed with hand grenades jumped out. Reacting instantly, he grabbed the closest man and, brandishing his .45 caliber pistol at the others, apprehended all three of the soldiers. Accompanied by one of his men, he then approached the second bunker and called for the enemy to surrender. When the hostile soldiers failed to answer him and threw a grenade which detonated dangerously close to him, First Lieutenant Webb detonated a claymore mine in the bunker aperture, accounting for two enemy casualties and disclosing the entrance to a tunnel. Despite the smoke and debris from the explosion and the possibility of enemy soldiers hiding in the tunnel, he then conducted a thorough search which yielded several items of equipment and numerous documents containing valuable intelligence data. Continuing the assault, he approached a third bunker and was preparing to fire into it when the enemy threw another grenade. Observing the grenade land dangerously close to his companion, First Lieutenant Webb simultaneously fired his weapon at the enemy, pushed the Marine away from the grenade, and shielded him from the explosion with his own body. Although sustaining painful fragmentation wounds from the explosion, he managed to throw a grenade into the aperture and completely destroy the remaining bunker. By his courage, aggressive leadership, and selfless devotion to duty, First Lieutenant Webb upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.<ref>US Marine Corps Awards - Vietnam. Full Text Citations for Vietnam War Awards of the Navy Cross. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved on 2006-03-25.</ref>

[edit] Post-military

Image:James Webb, Assistant Secretary of Defense, official photo.JPEG

Webb attended Georgetown Law School from 1972 to 1975, graduating with a law degree. While at Georgetown, Webb wrote his first book, Micronesia and U.S. Pacific Strategy.<ref>Webb, James H. (1974). Micronesia and U.S. Pacific strategy: a blueprint for the 1980s. New York: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-08940-1.</ref>

From 1977 to 1981, Webb worked on the staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. During this time, he also represented veterans pro-bono.

During the Reagan Administration, Webb served as the nation's first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from 1984 to 1987. During his time as Assistant Secretary, Webb sought to reorganize the Marine Corps. He was gravely concerned with the disarray the Marines had fallen into post-Vietnam: drug use, racial infighting, and low morale within the Corps left him with the impression it was no longer America's premier fighting force. The Marine Corps was also rocked by two scandals shortly during this time: the Clayton Lonetree espionage affair, where Lonetree became the first Marine convicted of espionage, and Marine Lt.-Colonel Oliver North's central role in the Iran-Contra affair.

In 1987, he served as Secretary of the Navy, becoming the first Naval Academy graduate to serve in the military before serving as the civilian head of the Navy. As Navy Secretary, Webb pushed the appointment of Alfred M. Gray, Jr. as Commandant of the Marine Corps, hoping that Gray could reshape the Corps into the elite unit it once was.<ref>Ricks, Thomas E. (1997). Making the Corps. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-684-83109-0.</ref> Webb resigned in 1988 after refusing to agree to reduce the size of the Navy.

After his resignation, Webb earned his living primarily as an author and filmmaker. He won an Emmy Award for his 1983 PBS coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut.

Among Webb's awards for community service and professional excellence are the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Medal of Honor Society's Patriot Award, the American Legion National Commander's Public Service Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Media Service Award, the Marine Corps League's Military Order of the Iron Mike Award, the John H. Russell Leadership Award, and the Robert L. Denig Distinguished Service Award

On March 30, 2003, Webb wrote a prescient opinion piece for the New York Times.<ref>James Webb (March 30, 2003). The War in Iraq Turns Ugly. That's What Wars Do.. New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.</ref> While he erred in believing that the Iraqi leadership had learned lessons from the first Gulf War that would enable them to stop U.S. troops from taking Baghdad, subsequent events proved correct his conclusion that a protracted guerrilla conflict would be a likely outcome of an American invasion of Iraq.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Webb wrote an op-ed piece for USA Today in which he, as a military veteran, evaluated the candidacies of John Kerry and George W. Bush. He criticized Kerry for opposing the Vietnam War in the 1970s while affiliated with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and accused Bush of using his father's connections to avoid service in Vietnam. Webb also wrote that Bush had "committed the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory" with the 2003 invasion of Iraq.<ref>Webb, James. "Veterans face conundrum: Kerry or Bush?", USA Today, 2004-02-18. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.</ref>

Webb has been married three times, and has four children. He is now married to a lawyer, Hong Le Webb, a Vietnamese-American born in Vietnam who grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to his wife, Jim speaks excellent Vietnamese for a non-native speaker. He has four children from previous marriages to Anne Arundel County Council member Barbara Samorajczyk and health-care lobbyist Jo Ann Krukar Webb: Amy, Sarah, Jimmy, and Julia. Jimmy is an infantry Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, and currently serving in Iraq. His unit is based out of Camp Lejeune.<ref>"Webb Puts Family Before Parade", Washington Post, September 1, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.</ref> In tribute to Jimmy and "all the people sent into harm's way", Webb wore his son's old combat boots every day during his 2006 Senate campaign.<ref>Robin Toner. "As Senator Falters, a Democrat Rises in Virginia", The New York Times, September 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.</ref>

[edit] 2006 Senate campaign

Main article: Virginia United States Senate election, 2006

In late 2005, a campaign to draft Webb to run for the Senate in 2006 began on the Internet. On February 7, 2006, he announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the 2006 Senate race against incumbent Virginia Senator George Allen<ref>Shear, Michael D.. "Reagan Navy Secretary Will Run for U.S. Senate", Washington Post, 2006-02-08, p. B05. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.</ref> and Gail Parker, the Independent Green Party nominee.

In the Democratic primary on June 13, 2006, Webb faced longtime businessman and lobbyist Harris Miller. Webb won with 53.5% of the vote, in a race with low turnout.<ref>Official Results: Primary Election, June 13, 2006. Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved on 2006-06-19.</ref>

Webb profited from the fallout from an August 11 2006 incident in which Allen used the word macaca to refer to S.R. Sidarth, who was filming an event as a "tracker" for the Webb campaign. A poll the following week showed Webb gaining 10 percentage points. The race, which at one point looked like a sure win for Allen, became one of the most watched and closest races of the 2006 midterm elections.

On September 7, 2006, Webb released his first television advertisement.<ref>"Television Ad Shows Reagan Praising Webb In 1985 Speech", The Washington Post, September 8, 2006.</ref> It featured footage of a 1985 speech by Ronald Reagan praising Webb at the secretary's alma mater, the United States Naval Academy in 1985. The next day, an official working for the Reagan Presidential Foundation faxed a letter to Webb's campaign on behalf of former first lady Nancy Reagan, urging them not to air the advertisement.<ref name=wp0914>"Let Reagan Be Reagan", Washington Post, 2006-09-15.</ref>

Five women graduates of the United States Naval Academy held a press conference, decrying a 1979 article by Webb, titled "Women Can't Fight". The women said Webb's article contributed to an atmosphere of hostility and harassment towards women at the academy. Webb was later endorsed by nine military women who stated that Webb is a "man of integrity" who "recognizes the crucial role that women have in the military today".<ref name=wt1018> "Military women support Webb as 'man of integrity'", Washington Times, 2006-10-18.</ref>

Allen had been expected to be reelected relatively easily, and that this reelection would prepare him for a possible 2008 Presidential candidacy. But Webb's entry into the race and primary victory changed the political landscape. Political analyst Larry Sabato said in May that "Jim Webb is George Allen's worst nightmare: a war hero and a Reagan appointee who holds moderate positions…. Allen tries to project a Reagan aura, but Webb already has it."<ref>Sally Donnelly. "Betting on a Novice in Virginia", Time, May 15, 2006.</ref> In September, Bloomberg.com's Catherine Dodge wrote an article highlighting Webb and the Senate race, and said "Webb isn't a typical Democrat. His family hails from the rural southern part of the state. He's pro-gun ownership, and he takes a harder line on illegal immigration than many Senate Republicans." <ref>Catherine Dodge (September 7, 2006). Webb's Challenge to Allen Tests Strength of Anti-War Sentiment. Bloomberg. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.</ref>

On October 26, 2006, the Allen campaign issued a press release quoting several passages from Webb's novels with sexual content, including graphic references to female anatomy, alleged pedophilia, homosexuality, and incest. The press release said that the passages showed a "continued pattern of demeaning women".<ref name= "Drudge">Allen's revenge: Exposes Underage Sex Scenes in Opponent's Novels. Drudge Report web site. Drudge Report. Retrieved on 2006-10-27.</ref> Allen's campaign refused to tell a local radio news station, WTOP-FM, whether it in fact had issued a news release on the matter.<ref>"Jim Webb Defends Content of His Novels", WTOP-FM, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.</ref>

On November 9, 2006, after the Associated Press and Reuters projected that Webb had won the seat, Allen conceded the election. Although the margin was narrow—less than 1% of the total vote and therefore small enough under Virginia law to allow demanding a recount—Allen stated that he would not challenge the result.

Webb, as a Democratic veteran challenger, is also considered one of the 'Fighting Dems'.

[edit] Senator-elect

On November 15, 2006, Senate majority leader in waiting Harry Reid assigned Webb to three committees: the committees on Foreign Relations, Veterans' Affairs, and Armed Services.<ref>Maze, Rick (Nov. 15, 2006). Webb to serve on key Iraq-related Senate panels. Air Force Times.</ref>

On November 28, 2006, It was reported that at a White House reception for those newly elected to Congress, Webb attempted to "avoid" President Bush, whom he criticized frequently on the campaign trail, and declined to stand in the presidential receiving line or have his picture taken with the president. Reportedly, the president found Webb and asked him, "How's your boy?", referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq. According to reports, Webb replied that he “really wanted to see his son brought back home”. Bush responded, ”I didn't ask you that, I asked how he's doing." Webb responded that that was "between me and my boy". Accounts claim that Webb was so angered by the exchange that he was tempted to "slug" the president, and later when recounting the incident divulged "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall," <ref>Heil, Emily (2006-11-29). Son also rises in testy Webb-Bush exchange. The Hill. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref><ref>Shear, Michael D. (2006-11-29). In Following His Own Script, Webb May Test Senate's Limits. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref>

[edit] As an author

[edit] Books

Webb's successful first novel, Fields of Fire (1978), drawn from personal experience, tells the story of a platoon of US Marines in late 1960s Vietnam. Reviewers hailed its pull-no-punches descriptions of infantry life and combat.<ref>"Reviving the Story-Telling Art", Time, October 30, 1978.</ref>

After five more novels, he wrote a work of nonfiction, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, tracing the role people of Scots-Irish ancestry have played in American history and culture. Webb argues that, contrary to the "cracker" and "redneck" stereotypes often applied to the Scots-Irish, many of whom settled in Appalachia, the American Midwest and the American South, the Scots-Irish were central to defining American working class values and culture. He lauds the fiercely independent streak and individualism of the Scots-Irish, and explains how their political pragmatism has often led them to play the role of swing voters in elections, for example as Reagan Democrats, and as voters for Ross Perot and Reform Party.

Fields of Fire (1978) ISBN 0-553-58385-9
A Sense of Honor (1981) ISBN 1-55750-917-4
A Country Such as This (1983) ISBN 1-55750-964-6
Something to Die For (1992) ISBN 0-380-71322-5
A Sense of Honor (1995) ISBN 1-55750-917-4
The Emperor's General (1999) ISBN 0-553-57854-5
Lost Soldiers (2002) ISBN 0-440-24091-3
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America (2004) ISBN 0-7679-1688-3

[edit] Movies

Webb wrote the story and was the executive producer for the 2000 movie Rules of Engagement, which starred Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson.

Warner Brothers acquired Webb's script for Whiskey River. Currently in production, the movie is directed and produced by Rob Reiner. The story is about a fictional American soldier injured in Iraq.

In October 2006, while commenting on the need to break away from stereotypical movie villains, Webb stated, "[e]very movie needs a villain. Towel-heads and rednecks -- of which I am one...became the easy villains in so many movies out there." <ref>Libby Copeland. "Don't Call Him Redneck: James Webb Hates the Expression, But Is Very Proud of the Culture", Washington Post, October 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.</ref>

[edit] Articles

On November 15, 2006, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Webb entitled "Class Struggle." Webb argued that the government must "confront the growing unfairness in this age of globalization." He also stated that the "elites" ignore the average American and believe that "[c]ertain immigrant groups have the 'right genetics' and thus are natural entrants to the 'overclass,' while others, as well as those who come from stock that has been here for 200 years and have not made it to the top, simply don't possess the necessary attributes." Columnist Jim Glassman has insinuated that this comment was anti-Semitic ("The Class Struggle of Jim Webb").

[edit] Trivia

Webb won a varsity letter for boxing at the U.S. Naval Academy. In his second-class (junior) year, he fought and lost in a controversial decision to Oliver North.
He was a Fall 1992 fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics.
Webb was interviewed as a guest on The Colbert Report in the episode aired March 8, 2006.
Webb has two favorite U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and Andrew Jackson.<ref>Searching for the real Jim Webb in the 'real Virginia'. The Virginian-Pilot (September 10, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-28.</ref>
On NBC's Meet the Press, Webb mentioned Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) as his model Senator and vowed to follow his footsteps in the United States Senate

[edit] Election history

Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
2006<ref>Virginia State Returns. Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.</ref>	Senate	General		Jim Webb	Democratic	1,175,578	49.58%		George Allen	Republican	1,166,792	49.21%		Gail Parker	Independent Green	26,092	1.10%

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[edit] See also

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Virginia U.S. Senate election, 2006

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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[edit] Official

Political offices
Preceded by: John Lehman	United States Secretary of the Navy May 1, 1987 – February 23, 1988	Succeeded by: William L. Ball
Preceded by: George Allen	United States Senator (Class 1) from Virginia Term Starts January 3, 2007	Succeeded by: Incumbent