ALEXANDRIA, Va.-
Often criticized for a lack of charisma on the campaign trail, Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb sought a boost of energy from the party’s political rock star, Sen. Barack Obama, on Wednesday.
The Illinois senator touted Webb’s leadership on foreign policy, including his early criticism of the Iraq war.
“The question is are we able to recognize that leadership when it is presented to us?” Obama asked about 500 gathered for a rally at the city’s Market Square. “In Virginia we are seeing the emergence of someone we can all be proud of,”
Obama, a favorite of the party faithful ever since his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, declined to offer any direct criticism of Webb’s Republican opponent, George Allen.
“I try not to talk about my colleagues but to talk about the quality of the candidates,” Obama told reporters. “Jim Webb is a man of authenticity, a man who is comfortable in his own skin, a man of sincerity. The voters in Virginia can make up their own mind about George Allen.”
Webb, a former Navy Secretary under Ronald Reagan and an academic who has written fiction and nonfiction books, accused Allen and President Bush of catering to corporate interests “while your job goes overseas and your kid goes to Iraq.” Webb’s son, a Marine, was recently deployed to Iraq.
Allen’s campaign spokesman, Dick Wadhams, said that Obama’s appearance is evidence of Webb’s alignment with the Democrats’ liberal wing.
“We assume Senator John Kerry, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Harry Reid and Senator Chuck Schumer will also be campaigning for … Webb. They’re all liberal Democrats,” Wadhams said.
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