Wow, I am so impressed with Jim Webb....he knows how to be rude. That's so cool. Did he spin his tires leaving the parking lot too? The Washington Post publised an article about a White House reception for freshman congressmen and Senator Webb's boorish behavior.
At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him.
"How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.
"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.
"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"
"That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.
Wow! What a guy! It brings to mind a thousand "B" movie teenage thugs who needlessly get up in someone's face and think their lack of civility makes them tough. We are always hearing that back in the days of the Tip O'Neill congress (and before) things were more civil between the two parties. Next time someone mentions that, I will point to Webb.
"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall," Webb said in an interview yesterday in which he confirmed the exchange between him and Bush. "No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration"
Good luck with that! I would freeze you out so hard and so fast your head would spin, bubba! But then again....no one holds a grudge like me.
"There are going to be times when I've got some strong ideas, but I'm not looking to simply be a renegade," he said. "I think people in the Democratic Party leadership have already begun to understand that I know how to work inside a structure."
Obviously that structure is not the White House or any other place civilized people gather for mature discourse.
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who campaigned hard to get Webb elected, said yesterday that the first-time officeholder doesn't have the finesse of most experienced politicians. "He is not a backslapper," Kaine said. "There are different models that succeed in politics. There's the hail-fellow-well-met model of backslapping. That's not his style."
But Kaine said that Webb's background, including a stint as Ronald Reagan's Navy secretary, will make him an important -- if unpredictable -- voice on the war in Iraq.
"There are no senators who have that everyday anxiety that he has as a dad with a youngster on the front lines. That gives him gravitas and credibility on this issue," Kaine said.
That's not a lack of finesse Gov. Kaine, it's behavior calculated to get attention. And anxiety does not give you *gravitas*. And this wasn't gravitas, it was bad manners. Criminy, if you put any more spin on that, I'd check your hands for a banned substance.
They are debating it over at The Castle. Imagine, someone is actually finding excuses for Webb's immature behavior!
I am really, really pissed off.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
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8 comments:
Let's see, Webb's at a White House dinner for all the newbies and he's avoiding Bush, who can't take the hint and hunts him down to ask him a personal question like "how's your boy". Bush is well aware that Webb has spent the last four years criticizing him for the Iraq war.
Webb, put on the spot, replies in general that he'd like to see them (meaning all our people) back. He doesn't want to talk about his son. Bush, taking obvious offense, replies "I didn't ask you that. I asked how's your boy". At this point, guess who's the rude one? Webb merely replies that his son's condition is between him and his kid "Mr. President" and walks away.
Maybe it's acceptable in Boston to make acquaintances discuss their private lives when they've said no. It's not acceptable in Virginia, especially when the question is about a military parent's child.
And this is not about Webb trying to get attention. It happened two weeks ago and Webb said nothing about it.
Webb rarely mentions his son in public, even among his supporters, and is a private man uncomfortable with outside intrusions.
You talk about "teenage thugs" getting up in someone's face to show they're tough? Webb didn't do that, nor does he need to. He IS tough. He's been through wars, watched close friends die, killed people, and almost been killed himself. When he thinks of his son in a war zone he can hear it and smell it the way only a combat veteran can. Bush is shallow and rude and arrogantly believes he doesn't have to respect the same lines which apply to others. Why should Webb make small talk about his son with this man?
Catzmaw - Problem number one with your theory that Webb was just looking for a little "alone time" and Bush "hunted" him down is this....Webb went to the President's reception. If you didn't want to talk to the President, would you accept his invitation to the White House?
Webb was not "put on the spot", it was planned.
Webb might be tough, but I have known men with his same qualification who would never disrespect the office of the POTUS in this way.
What's acceptable in Boston is to be polite when the host asks you a question.
I'm not saying that "W" wasn't being the politician, I'm saying that nothing productive came out of that exchange and that's on Webb.
Dear Anonymous - Fortunately I control this little piece of the web and if you are rude to me, I delete you. If you want to disagree, feel free. Catzmaw did and his/her comment is still here. You want to be rude, you will be gone. I am not as nice as POTUS.
I left another comment at The Castle (I'm Carla) but wanted to thank you for saying I was being polite with my disagreement, and also to say that I also like Brian Lamb. Thank God I'm not the only one. I think he's the best of the C-Span hosts. My children despair of their mother the C-Span junkie, but at least I'm not out chasing men or trolling porn sites.
"....but at least I'm not out chasing men or trolling porn sites."
You say that like it's a bad thing!
This pains me further because my Allen vote wasn't enough to shut this fop up for good.
Bottom line is it's lack of respect. There's a time and a place and that wasn't the place.
"fop" Pia?
Call him rude, call him socially graceless, call him blunt, or an unreconstructed redneck -- maybe you make a case for any of those -- but "fop" ain't the word for Webb.
He's a hard-charging, intense, and hot-tempered man, but to call him a fop implies there's something prissy about this guy who is a warrior legend in the Marine Corps and one of the most highly decorated fighters of the Vietnam war (Navy Cross, Silver Star, 2 Bronze Medals, 2 Purple Hearts). Fops don't throw themselves in front of grenades to save their mens' lives or charge heedless of danger into enemy bunkers.
Oh, and BostonMaggie, your point about "trolling through porn sites" is well-taken. I should probably start questioning some of my assumptions (LOL).
Did you come back looking for a response? Sorry, rude comments are just deleted.
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