James Webb has served in the U.S. Senate and as secretary of the Navy. He is also an accomplished writer of both novels (Fields of Fire), non-fiction (Born Fighting), and a contributor to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. And he won a Navy Cross for his service as a Marine officer in Vietnam. He is now thinking, as Rosalind S. Helderman of the Washington Post reports, about running for president.

As Democratic politicians go, Webb is an anomaly. He is strong on national defense and he identifies, instinctively, with the blue-collar, working class elements of the party. Webb is not particularly comfortable with the superficialities of politics and one wonders if he would tolerate the media’s excesses with the kind of equanimity shown by Mitt Romney.