Former Marine, Virginia Senator Considering Presidential Bid

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb says he’s concerned about the future of the country — and he’s not ruling out a bid for the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.
Webb has logged over 800 miles in Iowa over the past two days as he campaigned with Democratic candidates here. Webb, a former Marine who is the author of nine books, began writing a biography in January of 2013 when he left the U.S. Senate after serving just one term.

Webb argues the prospect of facing Hillary Clinton in a 2016 primary shouldn’t prevent other Democrats from campaigning in Iowa.  Webb is the guest on this weekend’s “Iowa Press” program on Iowa Public Television and he was asked to critique Hillary Clinton’s record as secretary of state.

Webb served as Secretary of the Navy in the late 1980s during President Reagan’s final two years in office and, in the late 1990s, Webb said he couldn’t “conjure up an ounce of respect for Bill Clinton when it comes to the military.” When pressed, Webb does praise Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration for a “pivot to Asia” that refocused on long-term U.S. interests in the region, but Webb is critical of the decision to intervene in Libya.