Jim Webb, Democratic candidate for Senate in Virginia won't be attending the Labor Day events that normally kick a candiate's campaign into high gear. It's not lack of finances nor a lack of interest. It's just that this is his last chance to be with his son before his son, a Marine Lance Corporal, deploys to Iraq.
Virginia's News Leader reports that: [b]ecause Webb knows combat firsthand as a Marine who fought in some of the bloodiest engagements of the Vietnam War, the experience is particularly painful. When asked about it in an AP interview, tears glazed his eyes and he was momentarily unable to speak.
Webb, 60, said he saw his father, a tough career military man, cry just once: the day he left for duty in Vietnam.
"I can look at it as a father and as a Marine, but, for better or for worse, I am just more visible than other fathers," Webb said.
"I'm going through the same mental and emotional process as thousands of other parents," he said.
G. Felix Allen, Jr., of course, will be walking in a Labor Day parade. Maybe he can avoid calling his fellow Americans nasty names for a change.
Webb's campaign realizes that Webb is losing a chance to compete with Allen, However, in Webb's case, voters will understand, said Mark Rozell, a political science professor at George Mason University.
"If you weren't there because you just wanted to get a few more days' of vacation out of the summer, then that would be a problem. But I think with this, most voters will look into their hearts and understand," Rozell said.
Bidding farewell to a child bound for combat also immunizes Webb from criticism for his absence from his opponent, he said.
"It would look pretty crass for an opponent to try and make an issue of it," he said.
Well, we all know that G. Felix Allen, Jr., who spent Viet Nam on a dude ranch while Jim Webb was fighting in Viet Nam, is as crass as crass can be.
Meanwhile, the General has some information on how the children of prominent Republicans like to spend their holidays.
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