Jim Webb Vs. ‘Humanitarian Intervention’ (and the Clock)
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) holds a news conference to announce legislation to overhaul the federal government's planning, management, and oversight of wartime-support contracting at the U.S. Capitol March 1, 2012 in Washington, DC
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesIf the advantage of being a front-runner is getting the rest of the world to adapt to your time, the curse of the dark horse is living by other peoples' stopped clocks. On Monday morning, after a weekend that saw a substantial press corps descend on Arkansas to cover the Clinton family's 2016 plans, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb found himself in a Hyatt basement ballroom, waiting to address a Washington meeting of Economists for Peace and Security. And waiting. And waiting.
Webb, who has not ruled out a 2016 presidential campaign, was scheduled to speak at 11:30. At that time, as a panel on trade and jobs dragged on, Webb was sitting in a corner, his London Fog topcoat bundled on the same table as a rapidly depleting coffee carafe. The panel dragged on as people recognized him, bent over and handed him their business cards.