For the second year in a row, a Democrat from Virginia will give the rebuttal to President Bush’s State of the Union address.
Freshman Sen. Jim Webb was chosen by Democratic congressional leadership to address the nation after the president’s Jan. 23 speech. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine gave the rebuttal last year.
Democrats chose Webb — a decorated combat veteran, former Navy secretary and military expert — to counter the president’s push for a troop increase in Iraq.
Webb has a son fighting in Iraq, and during his campaign was avocal critic of Bush administration foreign policy.
“As a combat veteran, he understands personally how crucial it is to find a new direction in Iraq and begin to bring the war to a close,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement. “Sen. Webb represents the sweeping demand for leaders who will put aside gridlock in Washington to deliver change at home and abroad.”
Webb said he was honored to give the response.
“I hope the president will join us in bringing fresh, creative solutions that will truly move our country forward,” he said.
Sean O’Brien, executive director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Political Leadership, said he was surprised that a freshman was chosen to deliver the rebuttal, and that the speaker came from the same state two years in a row.
“I suspect that Virginia Democrats would love for the message that gets out to be, ‘Pay attention to us, because Democrats are on the surge here in Virginia,’” he said.
O’Brien said that Webb, given his military background and the fact he is a former Republican, is an appealing candidate to deliver an anti-war message.
“I think [Democrats] also like that Webb was a former Republican who became a Democrat,” he said. “Think about the message it sends that a former Republican is giving the address.”
