Last Call For The Webb We Leave

I've talked extensively about which Republican would be the next out of the clown car, but it seems petulance and gravity have caught up with Democrat (and I use the term loosely) Jim Webb in a big way.

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb said he is "stepping aside" from the Democratic presidential race, leaving the door open to an independent bid for the White House.

"I’m withdrawing from any consideration of being the Democratic party’s nominee for the presidency," he said.

Instead, the former Republican said he would discuss the possibility of an independent run for president -- which is significantly more difficult and requires significant funding -- during the "next couple of weeks." He said he understands the "histories of independent candidacies."

"We'll just have to see what happens next," he said.

Webb served as Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan, but switched parties in protest to the Iraq War and ran for Senate as a Democrat in Virginia in 2006. He said today that he takes it “as a compliment” that his party affiliation has been hard to pin down.

“Some people say I am a Republican who became a Democrat, but that I often sound like a Republican in a room full of Democrats or a Democrat in a room full of Republicans," he said.

"More people in this country called themselves independents than Republicans and Democrats," he said today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., speaking with his wife at his side. "Our country is more important than a label. ... The other party in America is not the enemy."

So Jim has gone from the D side to the "Third Party screw the Ds side", possibly trying to Nader the Democratic nominee into another Republican president.  Won't that be fun?

Seriously, if Webb is trying to chase the No Labels nomination, he'd better hurry up.  Time is running out for a serious third party screw job attempt with the primaries being so early this year, and there's the matter of getting on the ballot in swing states where he can do the most damage to the Dems.

Get crackin' there, Jimmy.