Webb, the mirror of our own populist frustrations

America is in the midst of a growing populist movement that crosses parties and has yet to be identified by name or brand.

Other populist movements, such as the Netroots in 2004-06 or the tea party in 2009-10, were hijacked by opportunists seeking to make a buck and to achieve fame off people’s sentiments (or by the media, which categorized those movements as extreme in order to drive clicks and viewers). As a result, true believers on both sides were turned off to their movement’s original core values.

Webb possesses something that Washington has failed to provide for years at all levels of government: an aura of leadership.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that nearly 60 percent of Americans believe our political and economic systems are barriers working against them. That alienation crosses all parties, races, ages and professions; whites, blacks, Hispanics, millennials, boomers, white- and blue-collar, high-tech and poor, all are fed up.

That is not a poll that helps establishment Washington. But it is one in which Webb could shine.