Webb calls for a change of course in Iraq

During his televised address last night, Senator James Webb, Democrat of Virginia, pointed to a photograph of his father, a World War II veteran, to explain the stakes of the Iraq war. (AP Television News)

WASHINGTON -- One year ago, the Democratic response to the State of the Union speech focused gingerly on the Iraq war, with Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia urging that troops be provided with the needed resources. Last night, in contrast, Democrats selected freshman Senator James Webb of Virginia to rebut President Bush, putting forward one of their most combative and fiery critics of the war -- and of Bush himself.

"The President took us into this war recklessly," Webb said last night, adding: "We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable -- and predicted -- disarray that has followed. The war's costs to our nation have been staggering."

Democrats believe Webb is an unusually effective messenger, with his background as a Vietnam veteran, a Reagan-era secretary of the Navy, and the father of a Marine serving in Iraq. Webb wasn't in the Senate when the Iraq war vote took place, and in the November election he beat a supposedly unbeatable Bush ally, former senator George Allen, partly by tying Allen closely to Bush.

Last night, Webb used an emotional family tie to explain the stakes in the Iraq war. He displayed a picture of his father, who served in the Berlin Airlift, and noted that his son, Jimmy, is serving in Iraq.

"Like so many other Americans, today and throughout our history, we serve and have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country," Webb said. He said national leaders "owed us sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it."

In November when Bush met with Webb at a reception for freshmen members of Congress, Bush asked Webb how his son was doing. Webb responded that he wanted troops out of Iraq, reportedly adding that his son's well-being was "between me and my boy."

The Missouri native, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam.

Unlike his fellow senator and Vietnam veteran, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, Webb did not become an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Webb wrote an article for USA Today in which he criticized Kerry's "infamous anti war activities," but Webb also blasted Bush for making "the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory" by invading Iraq.

After serving in Vietnam, Webb became a novelist, starting with a book about the Vietnam War, "Fields of Fire."

In his address, Webb also criticized Bush on domestic issues, saying wages are low as a percentage of national wealth, while medical and tuition costs are high. He also cited what he called an inequity between a corporate executive officer and workers. "It takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day," he said.

Urging Bush to change course on the economy and Iraq, Webb was blunt: "If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way."