James Webb
James "Jim" Webb, Jr. (b. 1946) is the junior United States Senator from Virginia and a member of the Democratic party. He also served as Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan from 1987-1988.
2006 Senate campaign
On February 7, 2006, Webb announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the 2006 Senate race against one-term incumbent Virginia Senator George Allen. He narrowly won the Democratic primary with 53% of the vote in a race with a low turnout. He benefited after Senator Allen used the word "macaca" to refer to one of Webb's campaign workers. On November 7th Webb narrowly defeated Allen and was elected to a six year term in the U.S. Senate.
As a popular political figure, Webb has been the subject of many controversies. During his Senate campaign a group female graduates of the United States Naval Academy accused him of fostering an air of hostility and harassment towards them within the academy. In a 1979 article by Webb, entitled "Women Can't Fight", he said he had never met a woman "whom [he] would trust to provide those men with combat leadership", while he was serving in the Vietnam War. Webb also characterized the U.S. Naval Academy as "a horny woman's dream." He also had sexually explicit and sexist portrayals of women in his novels.
=Exchange with President Bush
On November 28, 2006, at a White House reception for those newly elected to Congress, Senator-Elect Jim Webb refused to have his picture taken with Republican President George W. Bush. The President asked Webb "How's your boy?", referring to his son, a Marine serving in Iraq. Webb replied "I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President." Bush responded, "That's not what I asked you. How's your boy?" Webb responded, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President." Webb was so angered by the exchange that he was reportedly tempted to "slug" the president. He later said "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall."
United States Senator
On January 4, 2007 Webb was accompanied by Senator John Warner (R-VA) and sworn in to the United States Senate by Vice President Dick Cheney. Webb currently serves on the Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Veterans Affairs, and the Joint Economic Committee. On January 23, 2007, Webb delivered the Democratic response to the President's State of the Union address and threatened to "show President Bush the way." On March 26, 2007, a senatorial aide of Webb, Phillip Thompson, was arrested for carrying Webb's loaded pistol as he entered the Russell Senate Office Building. Charges against the aide were dismissed.