WP: Webb's Icy Exchange Might Diminish Effectiveness

Dump the Dead Beat who wrote this peace in the trash, where he belongs. I say!!!!!!!

The icy exchange between President Bush and James Webb at the White House, made public this week, has turned Virginia's senator-elect into something of a folk hero among critics of the president who have longed for someone to challenge his bravado.

At the same time, Webb's refusal to play the gentlemanly political games so common in Washington has angered some conservatives and could raise questions about how the new Democratic senator -- not even sworn into office yet -- can be an effective lawmaker in a sharply divided Congress.

"He already has become what Washington did not need another of, a subtraction from the city's civility and clear speaking," conservative columnist George Will wrote on Thursday.

On the campaign trail, Webb rarely minced words about Bush, repeatedly calling the Iraq war "a blunder of historic proportions." At the White House reception early last month, Webb said he tried to avoid interacting with the president. But when Bush walked up to Webb to ask about his son, a Marine serving in Iraq, Webb hinted at the campaign criticism.

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