Jim Webb takes oath as U.S. senator from Virginia

Newly sworn-in Sen. Jim Webb takes a subway ride to the Senate offices, joined by his granddaughter Brianna Hogan, left, his wife, Hong Le, and their infant daughter, Georgia LeAnh. (Genevieve Ross photos/The Virginian-Pilot)

By Dale Eisman
The Virginian-Pilot

WASHINGTON - He has a well-earned reputation for speaking plainly and sometimes bluntly. The votes were barely counted when he had a dust-up with President Bush, an awkward and arguably rude exchange at what was supposed to be a get-to-know-you reception at the White House.

But as Jim Webb was sworn into office Thursday, the discordant notes that have marked his three decades in public life were nowhere to be heard. Instead, the 60-year-old freshman U.S. senator began his tenure by promising to be a team player and voicing hope that "we can get past the vitriol" he said has characterized American politics for the past decade.

"We need to be more civil to each other," added Webb, a Republican-turned-Democrat.

With his wife, Hong Le, and infant daughter, Georgia LeAnh Webb, among those in the Senate gallery, Webb became the 55th Virginian to take a place in the Senate. He got off to a running start, introducing a bill shortly after being sworn in and telling a crowd of perhaps 200 supporters who greeted him in a stifling-hot committee room that "we have a lot of work to do."

Webb's first legislative effort would provide a package of educational benefits - modeled after the GI Bill, which put hundreds of thousands of American troops through college after World War II - to veterans of the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The former Marine and highly decorated Vietnam War veteran promised the legislation during his campaign against former Sen. George Allen, a Republican, and he has been quietly lobbying for it among his fellow Democratic lawmakers in the weeks since the election. Party leaders have assured him it will be part of their legislative package for the Defense Department in the spring, Webb said Thursday.

The new senator's re birth as what President Bush might call "a uniter, not a divider," got a powerful assist from former Sen. Charles Robb, a Democrat who six years ago gave up the seat Webb took Thursday. Robb's defeat delivered a Senate majority to the Republicans in 2001; Webb's victory reclaimed control for Democrats.

Robb rarely comes to the Senate these days, but he squired Webb around the chamber and the crowded Capitol corridors for Thursday's ceremony. Robb also joined the state's other senator, veteran Republican John Warner, in escorting Webb down the Senate's center aisle to be sworn in.

The gestures affirmed a Webb-Robb alliance forged during last year's campaign. Webb recalled Thursday that he endorsed Allen over Robb in 2000 but said he now believes the Senate and the country would have been better off had Robb been re-elected in that race.

Webb talks with the media after being sworn-in Thursday.

The solemnity of Thursday's ceremony contrasted sharply with the jubilant air at Webb's post-swearing-in celebration in the Russell Senate Office Building and a party Wednesday night that drew hundreds of Webb supporters to an Arlington nightspot.

Standing atop a table to address a crowd that spilled into the corridor in the Russell building, Webb joked that "this is a real beer moment" and showed off baby Georgia as his friends roared their approval.

"It was a great moment on the Senate floor taking the oath," he said, but the sight of the crowd and its enthusiasm for the possibilities of his term are "what makes me feel like we truly did the right thing."

Jeff Krasney, an Arlington tax lawyer, was part of Thursday's throng. "I just wanted to be here to touch his success," Krasney said.

The crowds there and at the Wednesday party were heavily laced with veterans, many of them drawn by Webb's well-documented heroism in Vietnam.

Webb is "not a coward, like a lot" of politicians, said Bill Thomas of Springfield, a retiree who wore the Bronze Star he earned in Vietnam on his lapel at Wednesday night's party.

Thomas said he was impressed by Webb's willingness to evaluate issues independent of party labels. For most Republican and Democratic officeholders, "the good of the country goes by the wayside" in the drive for partisan advantage, he said.

Webb "seems to be unbelievably honest and straightforward," sai d Ken Moffett of Alexandria, a longtime Democrat who said he admired Webb's gumption in standing up to Bush and against the war in Iraq.

This week's ceremonies and celebrations capped a frenetic two months for Webb, who in addition to preparing for his new official duties has taken on the diaper-changing responsibilities of a new father. But except for his well-publicized clash with President Bush - who irked Webb with a persistent inquiry about the well-being of his son, a Marine serving in Iraq - Virginia's new senator has kept a low public profile since his election.

In a recent interview, Webb said he has been focused on learning the ways of the Senate and hiring a strong staff. His choice of Capitol Hill veteran Paul Reagan, whose resume includes service to several congressmen and former Gov. Mark Warner, to head his Senate staff has gotten uniformly good reviews. Webb filled other key slots Wednesday with a mix of Capitol Hill veterans, longtime Virginia political hands and friends from his time in the military and his Senate campaign.

"Finding the right people is one of the most important things you can do," said Tom Lehner, who once served as Robb's chief of staff. A full Senate staff includes about 40 people, and the presence of just one or two who are ineffective or difficult to work with can cast a pall over the entire office, he said.

Webb took a n active role in his senior hires, choosing Reagan after a pair of marathon interviews sandwiched around the Thanksgiving holiday.

He also focused on building bridges to his new colleagues, belying his reputation for being headstrong and outspoken.

Securing a spot on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he'll have a chance to grill top generals and Pentagon civilians on the course of the war in Iraq, he told Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, that he'll sit on any subcommittees Levin chooses.

He has been around the military "all my adult life," Webb said he told Levin. "I can be his utility infielder."

Though incoming senators and members of the House of Representatives get a few days of orientation classes from the House clerk's office and the Senate sergeant-at-arms right after their election, they are left largely to their own devices in assembling a staff and setting up an office.

"It's a little dicey," said former Rep. Owen Pickett of Virginia Beach. As he served as a transition adviser for Webb, Pickett recalled his experience in establishing a House office 20 years ago.

Pickett thought he had executed a master stroke when he hired a staff director with a great background on Capitol Hill. He quickly learned it was even more important that his top aide know something about the history, economy and culture of his district, he said.

New senators typically feel they "need to make all their decisions at once," said Beverly Bell, director of the Congressional Management Foundation, a non partisan and non profit group that advises lawmakers on improving their operations.

"It is not possible and not practical," Bell said. Until departing members move out and office s are shuffled, newcomers don't have enough desks for a full complement of staffers, she added. Most also need a few months to learn the ins and outs of congressional computer systems, administrative budgets and payroll policies.

Like other new senators, Webb has temporar y headquarters in a makeshift office, placed in the Russell building's courtyard like a temporary school classroom.

Lehner said the best counsel any senator and staff can receive is a reminder to "be flexible with your time." The nature of congressional service is that problems appear when least expected and that constituents expect quick attention, he said.

"It doesn't matter what your lunch plans were. It doesn't matter what your evening plans were. It doesn't matter if your wife is having a baby," said Lehner, who took a grand total of two hours off for his daughter's birth in 1994. "You really just have to be able to roll with it."

• Reach Dale Eisman at (703)913-9872 or icemandc@msn.com.

Sen. Jim Webb, left, with his wife Hong Le, holding their three-week old daughter Georgia, leave the Old Senate Chamber on Thursday after the swearing-in ceremony with Vice President Dick Cheney at right.