The entire editorial can be read at:
http://content.hampt...
This strongly worded endorsement of Jim Webb is significant in part because of the editorial board's center-right lean (some may recall that the paper just recently endorsed Thelma Drake in the House race). It doesn't hurt that the editorial is articulate, thoughtful, and even-handed in its assessments of both candidates' relative strengths and weaknesses.
Some highlights . . .
Over the past few months, Virginians have started to get to know James Webb.There are still gaps in that knowledge, but on two of the most essential ingredients for a U.S. senator - character and intellect - the record is clear.
Webb has an abundance of both.
Continues . . .
As for intellect, very little that is canned or formulaic makes its way into Webb's speeches or conversation. For better and occasionally worse, his answers appear to have been concocted in his own head, not during some poll-driven strategy session in Washington, D.C.Personal understanding of cultural forces in the Middle East and an innate skepticism governed Webb's courageous decision to speak out against the war in Iraq before it ever began. He took that once-lonely view long before events proved him right.
How much better if the nation had listened when Webb wrote in September 2002: "The issue before us is not simply whether the United States should end the regime of Saddam Hussein, but whether we as a nation are prepared to physically occupy territory in the Middle East for the next 30 to 50 years.
"Those who are pushing for a unilateral war in Iraq know full well that there is no exit strategy if we invade and stay."
Not bad ;-)
The United States faces threats as daunting as any in its history: international terrorism, militant Islamic fundamentalism in Iran and elsewhere, nuclear adventurism in North Korea and the chaos in Iraq. To Senate debates on those matters, Webb would add a wise and principled voice.That is the type of candidate that legions of voters, fed up with partisan political scripts, say they want. James Webb promises to be the kind of public servant and leader Virginia and the nation now need.
The Virginia-Pilot also included a copy of Webb's Navy Cross citation in its online edition.