I don't understand the Jim Webb potential candidacy

[Mr. Morden]

As reported in the tea leaves thread, Webb was in Iowa last month and gave a non-denial on the question of a presidential run.  Now he's talking about it again:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=164982.msg4311493#msg4311493

Webb seems like an unlikely prospect to be a presidential candidate.  I got the impression that he only ran for Senate because he was ticked off about the Iraq War, but otherwise wasn't really all that interested in elective office.  That's why he quit after one term.  Now he wants to run for president?

In any case, if he did run, what would his niche be?  I'm struggling to imagine what a Webb campaign would look like.

[Mister Mets]

If he wanted to be President, he should have made more of an effort to be Obama's veep.

Demographically, an elderly white guy who served in the Reagan administration is probably not who Democratic primary voters are looking for.

[Mr. Morden]

Where does Webb fit ideologically, relative to Clinton?  I know he was against the Iraq War, but do we have any other clues as to how he would compare to her on foreign policy?

[bedstuy]

Jim Webb would be my first choice after Hillary Clinton.  I think he would be a very strong candidate. 

Jim Webb was actually not a one issue candidate or a one issue Senator.  He was a major voice on the prison industrial complex problem, he led the fight to pass a new GI bill and he actually talked a ton about wealth inequality.  I think he has way more progressive chops than most of the Democratic field if Hillary opts out. 

[BaconBacon96]

Where does Webb fit ideologically, relative to Clinton?  I know he was against the Iraq War, but do we have any other clues as to how he would compare to her on foreign policy?

This is the question. If he runs to her right, there could be an opening for him. If he runs to her left, he'll have to compete with potential candidates like Sanders and O'Malley.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Jim Webb's appeal is to the disaffecteds - those who are concerned about economic inequality and lack of mobility but also skeptical of big government and may be turned off by liberal identity politics.

[pendragon]

Jim Webb would be an ideal candidate in the Democratic party of 1976.

[Mr. Morden]

Of note:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jim-webb-mulls-2016-run-pose-clinton-challenge/story?id=25708072

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Webb will turn 70 in 2016.  Biden, Sanders, and Webb could all run against Clinton and she'd still be the youngest candidate in the field(!).

[Mister Mets]

I just read a piece on whether there could be a strong third party candidate in this cycle, and another about how Huntsman was interested in that. A third party bid is something that would keep Webb slightly longer than a doomed primary challenge.

Jim Webb's appeal is to the disaffecteds - those who are concerned about economic inequality and lack of mobility but also skeptical of big government and may be turned off by liberal identity politics.

There is also a type of primary voter who won't support someone who has been a national figure for 25 years. They're the people who went for McCain in 2000, Obama in 2008 and Ron Paul in 2012.

Webb could have a stronger appeal for that group.

[Ogre Mage]

I don't understand it either.  He quit after one term and reportedly hated/was terrible at retail politics.  Has he somehow picked up a taste for retail politics since he retired?  Otherwise Iowa and New Hampshire will go badly. 

[IceSpear]

Maybe he's just bored.

[Eraserhead]

Man, do you guys remember that moment when he overtook George Allen on election night in '06 though? That was the best.

[Mr. Morden]

Skepticism about Webb 2016:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119557/jim-webb-president-why-hes-unlikely-run-2016

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[BaconBacon96]

Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if he campaigned for a few months, suggesting alternatives to the airstrikes, before withdrawing.

[AelroseB]

I suppose you could say that he's, moderately, socially conservative and economically progressive.

[Vega]

If I had to pick one older conservative Democrat over another, I guess I'd pick Webb.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Talk about someone who has no personality.  There is absolutely no charisma in the man.  That alone would doom his chances.