Did You Know That Jim Webb Was Running for President in Election 2016?

When I started this reincarnation of a blog back in August, I did not even know that Jim Webb was running for the Democratic nomination in Election 2016. I think that I remember hearing about it months ago, probably right after he officially declared in July. But I had not retained that memory and was only reminded of the fact last week.

How did he slip under the radar? Well, Jim Webb, along with a handful of other democrats, is maintaining an average polling success somewhere between 0% and 1%. In virtually every poll he comes in behind Joe Biden, who hasn't even decided to run for the Presidency yet.

Perhaps a better question is, why is Jim Webb virtually an unknown at this point?

One could say that being behind in the polls is meaningless at this point anyway. Hell, the first primary is still four months away. Not long ago, candidates were not even on the road at this time. They were at their jobs, still thinking about running for office. These days, you have to declare yourself for one election practically before the prior election is over.

A lot can happen in four months. As I stated with regard to the opponents of Donald Trump several weeks ago, the billionaire can get a lot of free press right now but over the course of this dead period before the primaries, other candidates can generate support simply by hanging on and acting as alternatives whenever a leading candidate makes a gaffe.

Jim Webb stands to gain support whenever Sanders or Clinton begins to hemorrhage support for one reason or another. If Biden comes into the race, I predict that this will do more than turn support the Vice President's way. It will also fragment support for Clinton and send at least some dribbles of support down toward Webb, O'Malley, et al.

None of this answers the question as to why Jim Webb is so far behind. Other candidates might explain that the other campaigns are simply better funded. That is certainly true in the case of Jim Webb. However, I think that Webb is a unique creature these days, something of a last Mohican. He is a conservative democrat.

Jim Webb served as the last Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration. He earned the spot not only for his legal and political background but also due to serving in the Marine Corps in Vietnam in the late 1960s and early 70s. He was wounded multiple times and earned a number of decorations for bravery.

And yet, he is a democrat! Not that republican candidates have any claim on military service. Most of those bastards are cowards equal to any democratic candidate. I think, were Jim Webb a republican, he would be able to parlay this background into a superior poll ranking. Democratic voters, however, are much more interested in identity politics and victim worship.

They are actually embarrassed by people like Jim Webb, who support the 1st and 2nd amendments and believe in supporting the armed forces of the country. Democrats will take a community organizer over a decorated hero any day. Unfortunately, Republicans will adhere to a loud-mouth blowhards when all other options fail to muster any sign of manhood.

Jim Webb is still hanging on and he hopes to participate in Election 2016 as the democratic candidate for President of the United States. I fear, though, that any day could bring news of his capitulation. Good luck, Jim.

Why Is Hillary Clinton Struggling to Lead in the Polls?

The great surprise of this election cycle is the trouble that Hillary Clinton has had in clinching the nomination. I realize that the primaries are still far away but I assumed that by now she would dominate the polls and have an easy ride to Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of her.

As if the continued neck-and-neck business with Bernie Sanders was not enough to mystify me, Joe Biden is inexplicably pondering entry into the race and being received favorably by many Democrats. At least with the republicans, I understand why their nomination process is a mess, The Dems have completely mystified me this year. I thought this was a done deal.

How Can Bernie Sanders Have Any Appeal Today?

Bernie Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination but he is technically an independent. In fact, he describes himself as a socialist but is not apparently a member of the Socialist Party USA (which is a sad little affair with something like one or two thousand members).

Now, the last unabashed socialist to run for president several decades ago got a few thousand total popular votes nationwide. Simply put, it has always been impossible for open socialists to win elections in this country. Even the most liberal locales have been allergic to this form of left-wing politics. Certainly, democrats have been justifiably accused of adhering to specific socialist ideas but their politics have always been to the right of major European socialist parties. In fact, liberal democrats in America are often more right wing than some conservative parties in Europe but that is a topic for another time.

So how has Sanders stayed competitive this time around? He is polling only around 20-30 percent support in head-to-head polls against the other democrats but that is far more than any of the others running against Hillary Clinton. Names like Webb and O'Malley get anywhere from 0% to 2% in such polls. I suspect he gets support for a few reasons:

• He is from Vermont and is popular with New Englanders. His higher numbers in New Hampshire (there he nearly equals Clinton with 40% of the vote) are probably due to this factor and they help to give him credibility in other polled locales. 
• People are really fed up with the way that global capitalism has destroyed their hopes. In a related article on my finance blog, I discussed how the economics of this country have been betraying the working class for decades. Maybe they are ready for extreme solutions to their extreme problems. I tend to think that Donald Trump is getting a lot of support on the other end of the political spectrum for the same reasons.
• Perhaps people just don't like Hillary Clinton enough to dismiss her competition so quickly.

Is Hillary Her Own Worst Enemy?

Maybe the explanation is much more simple than I let on. When I saw how even the mention of a run by Joe Biden was enough to upset Clinton's already rocking boat, I was surprised at how easily disturbed the race was on the Democratic side, Perhaps democrats are more fed up with Clinton than it appears.

It could be that the email scandal and Benghazi do resonate with liberal voters. Or maybe people are just sick of the Clintons and want to move on. Of course, it could also be a more prosaic answer. People might just not be impressed with the content of her political proposals. Wouldn't that be pleasantly traditional?

The Competition: Democrats

The democratic field is far less expansive than the republican. However, it has generated its own brand of excitement due to the recent rumors surrounding the possible entrance of Vice President Joe Biden into the race.

Front-Runner

Hillary Clinton has been aiming this shot for a long time. She won election to the US Senate in 2000 and served until the presidential election of 2008. She missed her opportunity that year when so many people considered her a shoe-in.  Somehow, Barack Obama beat the Clinton machine and left her begging for leftovers. She got Secretary of State but left her post in 2013, presumably to give herself some distance from the Obama administration and to prepare for this campaign.

Clinton has been hampered primarily by the Benghazi issue and the cloud surrounding her private Internet server while overseeing the State Department. Only recently has her shot at the nomination been seriously challenged by the potential entry of Joe Biden.

The Old-School Socialist

Bernie Sanders does not mind being called a socialist. He adheres to a leftist, trade-union form of political philosophy that would have made him an anachronistic candidate even decades ago. This approach to politics, long honored in Europe, is simply out-of-place in the US but his appeal to the poor and the under-employed is nevertheless real. Until now, his candidacy has only really been a sideshow.


King of the Gaffe

I remember Joseph Biden running for the 1988 presidential nomination of the democratic party. He and many others lost to Michael Dukakis. Biden tried again in 2008 and was washed out of the running early. In the end, Obama put him on the ticket in a surprising choice. Biden is another relic of 20th century American politics: part of the Irish-Catholic wing that guided the democrats during much of the Cold War.

Since reaching the office of Vice President, Biden has mostly been known for his gaffes. In fact, he made a few awful ones during his own campaign for the nomination. He made the awkward comment that Obama was an articulate, clean black guy.

Somehow, somebody thought it would be a good idea for him to run for the Presidency again. I am not a Clinton fan but I don't see how this is a good idea for the party. It just seems likely to undermine their strongest candidate. Perhaps, though, TPTB don't want her to win.

The Biden candidacy is not yet a fact but it seems to be gaining strength. It seems likely to be the only thing standing in Clinton's way. Without that distraction, Clinton's real opponent is already Donald Trump for as long as he retains the lead in republican polls.