Webb 'not that interested' in No. 2

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

Just as the Democratic veepstakes begin in earnest and Sen. Jim Webb releases a book on politics, the senator from Virginia said yesterday that he would "highly discourage" anyone from asking him to run for vice president.

"At this point, no one's asking, no one's talking and I'm not that interested," Mr. Webb, 62, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I would highly discourage them," said Mr. Webb said, sighing as host Tim Russert pressed him to say whether he would accept a spot on a ticket with either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Still, Mr. Webb is increasingly mentioned as a Democrat who deserves a spot on his party's short list for vice president.

His book does nothing to quell rumors that he would seek higher office. In fact, a publicist press release notes that Mr. Webb has received attention for Democratic vice-presidential consideration.

On the cover of "A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America," being released today, Mr. Webb appears deep in thought with his hand to chin and sporting a suit and tie. The 255-page book is rich with statements that would translate into a national campaign, including patriotic sentiment such as, "I owe those who went before me the kind of country they fought to create and wanted to perfect" and "I owe my children the kind of country they want to see preserved and further greatened."

He quoted former President Andrew Jackson and said he thinks the nation's differences "energize" its citizens: "We can and must insist on a common ground that binds us, a common language and a common good."

Mr. Webb included a chapter about "The genius — and the limits — of the Constitution," where he insisted: "The American people need to find leaders who are willing to take the action that will be necessary to fix" the problems of the world.

He writes that interest groups "thwart meaningful change," a message that sounds similar to Mr. Obama's.

"Our political leaders, including many of those in the Democratic Party, must share a measure of blame for not having stood up and fought on behalf of America's wage earners," he wrote.