James Webb declares his candidacy.

Ok. It's official.

James Webb has declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for US Senate against IT Millionaire Harris Miller. The winner will, of course, face Sen. George Allen in November.

Now that Webb has actually declared and we have a candidate, I'll make it public. Though I'll support whichever candidate ultimately wins the primary, I'll be casting my ballot for James Webb in the Democratic primary. I signed the "Draft James Webb" petition, but supported Harris Miller as the only declared candidate to date. I refused to publically show favor for Webb, because I thought that if he didn't end up declaring, the negative talk from Democratic pundits would hurt Harris Miller.

Now that we have the choice, James Webb is my candidate. Before, however much it didn't seem like it sometimes, I just wanted him to be.

There are a few simple reasons for this:
1. I seriously believe he has a shot at unseating Allen.
2. Webb is strong in foreign policy. I mean, he was the freaking Secretary of the Navy. His foreign policy ideals reflect mine as a DLC-style, centrist New Democrat. If he's elected, its safe to say that we'll probably have two Virginians on the Armed Services Committee, which would be a huge benefit in dealing with BRAC.
3. James Webb has the power to, once put on the national stage, become an instant Democratic leader. He's not a dove or idealistic peace activist. He just believes that the war in Iraq was a bad move, unlike many Democrats would probably would hold that even justifiable conflicts are wrong. We need that. The American people can't keep perceiving us as the party thats soft on terror and able to be pushed over by foreign powers.

That being said, I'd like to hear more from Webb on social issues. As can probably be deduced from what I've written in the past, I'm a big believer in government's responsibility to the less fortunate in our country. I want to know what James Webb thinks about the President's new budget, which will cut valuable resources from Medicare and Medicaid and eliminate multiple valuable social programs. If he stands where I do on these issues, I've found not only MY candidate, but the ideal candidate.