with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and accused Bush of using his father's connections to avoid service in Vietnam. Webb wrote that Bush had "committed the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory" with the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Webb supported Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey's campaign for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination. In 1994, he endorsed incumbent Democrat Charles Robb for reelection to his Senate seat, over Webb's former Naval Academy classmate Oliver North; like Webb, both Robb and North were decorated Marine veterans of the Vietnam war. Webb subsequently endorsed Republican George Allen over Robb in 2000, and then ran against Allen himself in 2006. United States Senate 2006 Senate campaign In late 2005, a campaign to draft Webb to run for the Senate in 2006 began on the internet, promoted by netroots activists such as those at the blog Raising Kaine. On February 7, 2006, he announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the 2006 Senate race against incumbent Virginia Senator George Allen. In the Democratic primary on June 13, 2006, Webb faced longtime businessman and lobbyist Harris Miller. Webb won with 53.5% of the vote, in a race with low turnout. On August 11, 2006, an incident occurred in which Allen used the word macaca to refer to Webb campaign associate S.R. Sidarth, who was filming an event as a "tracker" for the Webb campaign. A poll the following week showed Webb gaining 10 percentage points. The race, which at one point looked like a sure win for Allen, became one of the most watched and closest races of the 2006 elections. Webb's entry into the race and primary victory changed the political landscape. Political analyst Larry Sabato said in May that "Jim Webb is George Allen's worst nightmare: a war hero and a Reagan appointee who holds moderate positions.... Allen tries to project a Reagan aura, but Webb already has it." On September 7, 2006, Webb released his first television advertisement, which included footage of a 1985 speech by Ronald Reagan that praised Webb's service as a Marine. The next day, the Chief of Staff for the Reagan Library wrote to Webb's campaign on behalf of former first lady Nancy Reagan, urging them not to air the advertisement saying it was neither fair nor respectful because it gave the impression of an endorsement. The Webb campaign disagreed, saying, "What Reagan said about Jim Webb,