A Virginian Veep? Webb Downplays the Rumors Updated 4:05 p.m.
By David Broder
Is Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia interested in being on the Democratic ticket this year? "Not particularly," he told a group of reporters Wednesday.
His less than firm rejection of the rumors linking him to the No. 2 spot was the final question at a breakfast session sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, leaving journalists free to speculate.
That speculation was fueled further by Webb's announcement that on May 20, he will publish his latest book, "A Time to Fight," a non-fiction volume dealing with "economic unfairness" here at home, "strategic failures" in Iraq and elsewhere, and "where we go from here," plus an autobiographical section recounting his personal saga.
Webb, a Vietnam veteran, a former Republican and Reagan administration Navy secretary, gave the Democrats their Senate majority when he won the 51st seat in 2006, two years after Barack Obama joined the world's most exclusive club.
Now a member of the Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Veterans Affairs Committees, he reminded reporters that he had been an early and outspoken critic of the invasion of Iraq and an advocate of diplomatic measures that would allow the early withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Is there anything else Obama might need in a running-mate? As Webb might say, "Not particularly."