'Born Fighter' Settles Down To Collegial First Term

Webb said he did not even have time for a vacation, managing to squeeze in only one night out with his wife during the summer break.

"It's been a really, really hard year," Webb said. "I spent basically the whole year working here, going home and writing the book. I've gotten around the state whenever I can. As for personal free time, there really hasn't been any."

Chris LaCivita, a GOP political consultant who was involved in Allen's campaign, is dubious that Webb has changed much from the candidate who benefited from an Allen gaffe on the campaign trail to beat the incumbent by 9,000 votes.

"A lot of the concerns expressed when he was a candidate have not gone away. He's a little prone to go off," LaCivita said. The Senate "is a place where you need to work across party lines. . . . He doesn't sit well in that collegial body."

Webb helped get a bill signed into law that creates an independent commission to examine private contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, a measure that was unpopular among some Northern Virginia contractors. But Webb, who opposed the invasion of Iraq from the start, failed to pass a bill to provide education benefits to soldiers serving after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Democrats, who hold a one-seat advantage in the Senate, have repeatedly fallen short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster to pass a bill, contributing to a charged partisan atmosphere. Webb said that the rancor is frustrating but that he understands it often takes years to get bills through and will keep trying.

He introduced a bill that would prohibit Bush from taking military action against Iran without congressional approval. He weighed in on the Senate immigration debate with a proposal that would allow illegal immigrants to become citizens if they met certain criteria. And he led a hearing on a long-standing interest: the growing prison population.

Some people, even those in his own party, are questioning whether Webb will run again. He won't say.

"I like what I'm doing," he said. "Any job I've ever had, if I feel like I am really accomplishing something, then I'll do the job."

Staff writer Tim Craig and researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.