With his appointment book rapidly filling up with scheduled trips and speeches, former Senator and Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb is looking more and more like a serious challenge to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Presidential dreams.
In June, Webb pitched supporters of his
PAC Born Fighting for donations, telling them, "I am now ready to re-enter the debate, and I am asking that you consider helping me do so."
On a recent campaign visit to Iowa stumping for other candidates, he made 15 stops, the Washington Post reports, and plans to visit New Hampshire in October to campaign for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH. Both are key states in the run-up to a Democratic nomination in 2016.
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Washington Post/ABC News poll in June found Clinton to be the runaway best bet for becoming the Democratic candidate in 2016, outpacing Webb among voters leaning Democratic by 66 percent to just two percent.
However, Webb, a decorated Marine Vietnam veteran, without question is testing the waters for a run on the White House. In a recent speech,
the Post reported, he said, "I'm seriously looking at the possibility of running for president. But we want to see if there's a support base from people who would support the programs that we're interested in pursuing."
As an anti-war opponent of President Obama, Webb, many political analysts say, just may have a shot at stealing the nomination way from Clinton.
Marcos Rubenstein, campaign director for Dennis Kucinich in 2008, told the Post, "Remember, one of the reasons Obama did so well in Iowa was because he said he would end the wars. That is why he was able to beat Clinton and Iowa remains full of Democrats who are looking for a peaceful message."
Clinton is heavily loaded down with war baggage in an increasingly war-weary country, thanks to her 2002 vote in the Senate to go to war in Iraq, her support for Obama's anti-ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) crusade and her close ties to the increasingly unpopular President.
Webb, 68, has staked out the anti-war position firmly, criticizing Obama for continued military involvement in the Middle East, and saying, "This administration, collectively, made some very bad decisions, and they now have to climb out of a deep hole."
Steve Jarding, a former Webb political consultant, told the Post, "In this climate, there is a thirst in the electorate for someone who can shoot straight, and Jim knows that. I don't think he's intimidated by the long odds. It's not in his makeup to be fearful, and I think he's putting a trial balloon out there because he is probably going to run."