The only sensible Democratic presidential candidate, Jim Webb, has dropped out of the race.

Jim Webb at the debate. Yahoo/Reuters. 

Jim Webb has become the 2nd major candidate, after Scott Walker, to drop out of the 2016 presidential race. Yahoo News. Webb ruled out further campaigning as a Democrat but has not ruled out a third party/independent run. Webb criticized campaign finance laws and blamed them for his failure to raise money. He also says that special interest groups are pulling both parties to the fringe and that there was no room in the race for a moderate like him. Webb stood out during the Democratic debate as a moderate alternative to the far left candidates, such as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Webb was never able to gain much money and when he ended his campaign he had only raised just under $700,000, compared to the millions Sanders and Clinton had raised. 

My Comment:

I'm sad to see Jim Webb go. I disagree with him on a lot of things but out of all the Democratic candidates, Jim Webb seemed like the only one that cared about America. He's a war hero and his views are a lot more acceptable to me then anyone else on the Democrats side. During the debate he was the only one making any sense. His views on gun rights, for example, are at least acceptable. If nothing else he was pushing the Democratic Party very slightly to the right. At the very least he ensured that the Democratic Party at least heard some moderate views. With him out of the race I fear that the next debate will fall entirely into far left lunacy. 

He might run as an independent but honestly, I don't see him doing much there either. He won't siphon off any votes from the Democrats. Their constituency has gone far left, and I doubt there are enough moderates left to go to Webb. And if Trump is the Republican candidate, he's going to be the one that gets disgruntled moderate democrats, not Jim Webb. And though Jim Webb is palatable to Republicans, they aren't going to support a third party run for a guy that is to the left of them, especially if it means having a chance at yet another Clinton president. 

I also don't think Webb is right about why he wasn't successful. To argue that it's big money is pretty off base when you actually look at the candidates who are polling well right now. On the Democrats side, Bernie Sanders is getting funded by small donations. He has had some larger contributions but  his campaign is largely being funded by the people. And Donald Trump is pretty much the same way. He's mostly funding his campaign, believe it or not, the same way that Sanders is. Small donations. And he has his own money to fall back on.

Out of all the major "big money" candidates, only Hillary Clinton is doing well, and that has more to due with not having a credible threat to her candidacy. Jeb Bush is doing terrible, Scott Walker is out of the race and the only candidates on the right that are making any noise at all are outsiders like Trump, Carson and Fiorina. I think Webb is way off base here, unless something radically changes in the polls. 

I do think it is a damn shame that there isn't room for someone like Jim Webb in the Democratic Party. Webb is definitely a liberal, but he's a sensible one. Unlike Bernie Sanders, he isn't a Communist in all but name. And unlike Hillary Clinton, he actually has beliefs he stands for, not changing his mind with the polls. And unlike Martin O'Malley, he actually makes sense when it comes to guns. I think there is way more political diversity in the Republican field. They have a full libertarian in Rand Paul, a populist in Trump, a couple of evangelicals, a couple of neo-conservatives and a few more libertarian leaning candidates, and a fairly left leaning Chris Christie. 

I am kind of surprised that Webb was the next one to drop out. Sure he wasn't polling well at all, but there are so many candidates that are polling terrible as well. I kind figured that Lincoln Chaffe would be the next to go considering his terrible numbers and the fact that his debate performance was just pathetic. And unlike Jim Webb, Chaffe doesn't really differ all that much from Clinton or the other Democrats. 

For the Republicans, there are a ton of candidates that should no longer in the race. Lindsay Graham, George Pataki, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee basically have no chance. Though I like Rand Paul, his campaign has been terrible to the point he has no chance of winning the presidency. He should focus on his senate race. Even Jeb Bush, who still has tons of money and big business support, is doing terrible in the polls. Hopefully, some other candidates drop out soon.