Washington ( CNN ) Jim Webb has skipped the usual full Washington media tour since launching a presidential exploratory committee late last year . He has done fewer than a handful of interviews , given one high-profile speech and has shied away from attacking other Democrats who are considering a run in 2016 . But that does n't mean Webb has been silent on issues . Far from it . Webb , a 68-year-old former senator and secretary of the Navy , has been quietly outlining a 2016 platform -- on Twitter . For the last two-months , Webb has been tweeting about criminal justice reform , mental health issues and efforts to increase middle class incomes . He has urged the United States to reshape its drug policies and outlined his views on leadership . What 's more , Webb has commented on news-of-the-day issues , like President Barack Obama 's decision to normalize relations with Cuba , former New York Mario Cuomo 's death and the release of Congress ' report on torture . Webb plans to continue this Twitter-first strategy when he live tweets President Barack Obama 's State of the Union address on Tuesday , adding his observations and disagreements with the president in real time . While most of this has gone largely unscrutinized -- and Webb and his advisers are aware Twitter ca n't be the only way a presidential candidate outlines a message -- advisers said Webb 's Twitter account is a fair representation of the platform Webb would run on if he chooses to jump into the race . `` We can un-paralyze the environment and re-establish a transparent , functioning governmental system , '' he said in December , linking to a number of policy positions on combating climate change . `` Why are so many Americans currently in prison compared with other countries and our own history , '' he asked this month . Webb 's tweets are noticeably very different than most politician 's tightly edited , concise messages . Some , frankly , do n't make sense . But Webb 's spokesman said the former senator writes all his own tweets and takes it `` very seriously . '' `` It is not a bunch of propeller heads around him saying you should do that or this , '' said Craig Crawford , Webb 's new communication 's director whose hiring was announced on Twitter . `` He likes to get his own message out and does n't do interviews just for the heck of it . He is his own guy . '' Crawford said Webb enjoys Twitter more than giving speeches . `` It is more a dialogue than a one way speech , '' he said , adding that the former senator feeds off the responses he gets and reads all of them . `` He approaches Twitter as a conversation , '' Crawford said . `` He did these prison reform tweets and it is an opportunity to build a conversation with followers that is a little different than a speech or an interview that is driven by whatever the questions are . I think he enjoys it . '' So will Webb bypass the media and only try and reach voters through Twitter in the coming months ? No , says Crawford , who notes that Webb has received a list of media requests that `` most politicians would dream about . '' `` He recognizes that interviews are part of the gig , '' Crawford said . `` He is going to open up the doors before too long . ''
Jim Webb has quietly been outlining a presidential platform on Twitter since launching a presidential exploratory committee late last year . He regularly tweets about criminal justice reform , mental health issues and efforts to increase middle class incomes . He will live-tweet President Barack Obama 's State of the Union address on Tuesday , offering his views and opinions .