By Count Friedrich von Olsen
Well, the indicators are in that Hillary Clinton is going to be the Democrats’ standard bearer in November and she will be going toe-to-toe with Donald Trump, the Republican candidate. I suppose there is a smidgen of a chance either of those two will stumble before their respective parties’ conventions roll around, which is about the same level of probability that the outer moon of Jupiter will collide with the outer moon of Mars…
As all well know, I am a Republican tried and true, in heart, body, mind and soul. So I was heartened to hear Jim Webb, a former Democratic presidential candidate, announce he won’t be voting for Hillary Clinton and might vote for Donald Trump. On MSNBC’s program “Morning Joe” today, he said “I would not vote for Hillary Clinton.” Normally, I do not heed what a Democrat has to say. In Mr. Webb’s case, I’m willing to make an exception…
Here’s a little bit of background on him: He attended Annapolis, the U.S. Navy Academy. He graduated in 1968. In 1967, he fought in the 147-pound boxing championship at the academy against a fellow named Oliver North. North won that fight on a decision…
After graduating from the Naval Academy, Mr. Webb was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He then attended the Marine Corps Officer Basic School, from which he graduated first in his class. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the second half of his tour in Vietnam, where he served as a platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines. To enable himself in his assignment, he learned to speak Vietnamese, a skill he retains until this day. While in Vietnam, a Viet Cong guerrilla lobbed a grenade at him. Before it exploded, he shoved a nearby Marine to safety and shot the guerrilla. When the grenade exploded, it sent shrapnel into his knee, kidney, and head…
He was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in Vietnam, along with the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts…
During the Reagan Administration, Mr. Webb served as the nation’s first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from 1984-87. In 1987, he served as Secretary of the Navy, becoming the first Naval Academy graduate to serve as the civilian head of the Navy…
He was elected U.S. Senator from Virginia in 2006. There was speculation about his possible candidacy for president in 2008. In 2012 he did not seek reelection to the Senate. He was among those considered to be a viable Democratic candidate for president in 2016, but he dropped out of that race last year when it became apparent that the Clinton machine had accumulated too much money to be stopped…
This morning he said that Hillary Clinton would continue President Barack Obama’s policies, but that with Trump, things would change. Asked if he would vote for Trump, Mr. Webb said, “I’m not sure yet. I don’t know who I’m going to vote for. If you’re voting for Donald Trump, you may get something very good or very bad. If you’re voting for Hillary Clinton, you’re going to be getting the same old thing…”
It is too bad the Democrats did not see their way clear to let someone like Jim Webb make his way to the top of their nominating process. I would not vote for him – after all he is a Democrat – but at least he would have been a worthy opponent…