President Bush Said...

Yesterday President Bush attended a Democratic congressional retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, the first he attended since 2001. In last night's news on NPR, it was reported that President Bush said the war in Iraq is "sapping our soul." This quote struck me; it resonated with my strong personal feelings opposing the war in Iraq. I actually agreed with him--and that surprised me. Yet it didn't sound like something he would say unless it was, perhaps, coming from a religious perspective. If the President truly believes the war is sapping our soul, how could he possibly commit 21,500 more troops to Iraq? Could there be a glimmer of hope that he is waking up, or is it more likely that he said something to appease the crowd of Democrats? The soul-sapping war will begin its fifth year in just six weeks.

Read the article which mentions the quote: Bush Puts 'ic' Back in 'Democrat Party' (The Associated Press).

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) to give Democrats' State of the Union Response

Senator Jim Webb, the newly elected Democrat from the Commonwealth of Virginia, will deliver the Democrats' response to the State of the Union speech delivered by President Bush on January 23. Go Jim Webb! Virginia has been in the political spotlight frequently the last few years with Democrats gaining top positions and media attention. Christmas came early last year, we stayed up until the wee hours on election night to learn what was happening. Sen. Webb defeated Republican Senator George Allen by the narrowest margin (.8%) in a race last November that wasn't decided until Allen conceded two days later. Webb's slim victory gave Democrats a 51-seat majority the control of the Senate; for Democrats, but most especially for Virginia Democrats, it was a big deal. Our guy did it! Virginia Democrats have been on a roll recently, recall that Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine was elected in 2005 after serving as Lt. Gov. under popular former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner. After Kaine's victory, he gave the 2006 Democratic response to Bush's annual message to Congress.

You might not have known...

Jim Webb's son is currently serving in Iraq. Sen. Webb wore a pair of his son's combat boots throughout the campaign and took them with him when he wasn't wearing them.

Sen. Webb is a former Republican who served as Navy secretary under President Ronald Reagan. In recent years he broke with his party, mainly due to disagreements with the Bush administration's policy on Iraq.

In September 2002, Webb published an opinion piece in the Washington Post entitled "Heading for Trouble; do We Really Want to Occupy Iraq for the Next 30 Years?" This was published before the Republican-controlled House approved the resolution giving Bush authority for military operations in Iraq.