Jamelle Bouie looks back at the career of Sen. Jim Webb, who is not going to run again in 2012:
Webb was a long shot when he announced in 2006, and his win over George Allen was a huge upset, and the beginning of a string of Democratic wins in the Commonwealth that ended with the Republican sweep in 2009. As a senator, Webb wasn't perfect -- his votes against DADT repeal, for instance -- but his stands against the Iraq War and his work on criminal-justice reform were more than welcome. In particular, Webb will be missed for his attention to the problem of mass incarceration.
I disagreed with Webb on a number of issues, particularly the origin and necessity of affirmative action and his views on due process and civil liberties relating to terrorism and national security. He did offer a clear moral voice on criminal-justice issues. For now, though, most of the interesting developments on criminal-justice issues are happening in the states, and any big developments in criminal-justice policy on the federal level were likely to be subject to the same partisan gridlock as everything else. Webb's work on criminal justice in the Senate, for the foreseeable future, was never going to be as interesting as what Gov. Mitch Daniels is trying to do in Indiana.
