Ellington

An indication of the national attention on Mississippi's Senate race, Virginia Sen. Jim Webb appeared with former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove on Monday to speak in support of Musgrove on veterans' issues.

Webb, a Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan, won election to the Senate as a Democrat in 2006. He authored a bill, which passed in June, providing education benefits to post-Sept. 11 veterans.

In front of a group of Mississippi veterans at the War Memorial, Webb spoke approvingly of Musgrove's respect for veterans.

"When you see a candidate here, who knows what it's like … to have to send a loved one off to war and to help them when they come back … that's the person you want representing you in the United States Senate," Webb said.

Musgrove introduced his son, Michael, who returned earlier this year from his second tour of duty in Iraq. Musgrove also assailed his opponent, interim Sen. Roger Wicker, for voting in July against the Democrat-sponsored version of the defense authorization bill, which increased benefits and health care for troops.

"Our veterans deserve better," Musgrove said. "We must ensure funding for our veterans' health care, for the V.A. and for our troops (that) are actively fighting to protect us."

Webb believes that the Democratic Party better serves the interests of the white working class and has also advised Barack Obama on connecting with those voters.

"It's the same phenomenon here in Mississippi as it is in southwestern Virginia," Webb said. "It's convincing this cultural group that its identity is with the Democratic Party on issues of respecting service and taking care of working people."

An Oct. 13 Research 2000 poll showed Wicker leading Musgrove by one point, 47 percent to 46 percent, well within the poll's 4 percent margin of error.