Jim Webb at Colorado JJ Dinner

Thanks to my good friend Stan Davis for the following report from yesterday's Colorado JJ Dinner festivities.

Sen. Jim Webb was the keynote speaker at Friday's statewide Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.  Earlier in the day, Webb and CD-2 (Boulder) Congressman and Senate candidate met with a group of veterans.

More on the "flip."

The dinner was 1800 of my nearest and dearest.  I watched him on the big screen, since I was way off to the right of the stage.  He noted the attendance and said that his margin of victory over Allen was about the number of people in the room.  He also noted that our Ken Salazar was the first Senator to support and endorse him.

Webb is a MUCH better speaker than what I remember from his campaign.  He seemed quite comfortable, appeared to have only scant notes, and spoke very well.  He's a good match for Colorado. I didn't take any notes, but he talked about his legislation for vets and financial/economic justice.  He also refuses to call the "thing" in Iraq a war.  He talks about the war in Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq.

I didn't know that he was a big pro-union guy even in the Reagan years.  He talked about how nobody could figure him out (my term would be label or pigeonhole him).  He said something about being the only Democratic Senator with eight (or whatever) novels, a union card, and two purple hearts under his belt.  The bottom line:  Jim Webb is just Jim Webb -- a "oner."  The union card is with the Screen Writers Guild or something, since he worked on the screenplay of "Fields of Fire." (?)

In the introduction at the dinner, Udall read Webb's Navy Cross citation.  I cried.

Geez, you can just see and feel the steel in the guy's spine.  I want him on my side in a bar fight, and I'd go way out of my way not to make him mad.  I'd bet those eyes with an angry stare would melt titanium.  Anybody who tries to question his patriotism had better duck, and fast.  Salazar touted Webb for VP, but Webb didn't pick up on it.

I also learned tonight that the Salazar for Senate '10 campaign has hired the Brent Blackaby and Larry Huynh group for internet work.  A Salazar staffer, Ken Lane, a former big Clarkie, apparently was the catalyst.  I can't imagine a bigger mismatch -- the old, stodgy Ken Salazar and the innovative BlakrockOnline group.  I'm going to e-mail them and ask them to help turn Ken into a Democrat.

I had a nice reunion with Nick Kelly.  None of his family came, though.  Nick and I tag-teamed a couple of ladies from across town with Clark stuff.  One of them was for Clinton and the other was for Obama.  But they were still friends.

It was great to see my '04 Senate candidate Mike Miles.  He's for Obama (no surprise there).  He's thinking he might try something in about 8 years, when he will be 59 and his kids will be older (the youngest is 6).  I told him that President Obama should appoint him as an Undersecretary of State or Secretary of Education.  Meanwhile, he's the superintendent of a medium-to-large school district in south Colorado Springs.  Remember that he also was a West Pointer (8th in his class), a counter-terrorist Army Ranger, and a State Department intelligence analyst and diplomat.