In a sense, there are two, perhaps three Jim Webbs. There is the Jim Webb whose sport was boxing at the Naval Academy and who chose to become a combat officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded and decorated.

There is the ruddy-faced man who calls himself a “redneck,” proud of his roots in the Scotch-Irish communities of Southwestern Virginia.

There is the conservative Republican who served as secretary of the Navy under President Reagan and quit rather than face congressionally ordered budget cuts.

And there is Webb the writer, author of “Fields of Fire,” perhaps the best novel of Vietnam.

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He has written a movie and acclaimed works of nonfiction. He won an Emmy award in 1983 for coverage of Marines in Beirut, Lebanon.

These profiles appear to be riddled with contradictions. But do these contradictions, and the man who embodies them, represent the new Old Dominion Democrat? And is the Old Dominion Democrat the model for a new national Democrat?

Webb, Virginia’s junior Democratic senator, said he believes so.

In an interview with The Examiner in his temporary office in the Russell building, Webb said the rural, working-class areas of Virginia — areas carried by George Allen in last year’s election — are a natural fit for the Democratic party. Webb said he can reach out to these voters and bring them to the Democratic side. He said his opposition to the Iraq war shows working-class people in rural areas that patriotism does not mandate blind support of what he considers to be the Bush administration’s failing Iraq policy.

“The Iraq situation, where these people have divided loyalties, makes it difficult for them to oppose an administration during ‘a time of war,’ ” he said. “They have come to understand ... why I’ve taken the position” opposing the White House, including opposition to President Bush’s troop surge plan.

“Virginia is a microcosm of the United States,” he said. “Northern Virginia ... is becoming more and more cosmopolitan. Far southwest Virginia is as red as any red state. The northern part of the state has become more aligned with the recent traditions of the Democratic party. What I said on Day One when I started running is the real test for the Democratic Party of the future is this huge swing group of which I’m a part, characterized by the Scotch-Irish. Are [Democrats] going to let the Reagan Democrats come home again?”

Webb has described these voters as being alienated by the Democratic Party. In a 2004 commentary in the Wall Street Journal, he wrote, “The GOP strategy is heavily directed toward keeping peace with this [working-class Scotch-Irish] culture, which every four years is seduced by the siren song of guns, God, flag, opposition to abortion and success in war. By contrast, over the past generation the Democrats have consistently alienated this group, to their detriment.”

National Democratic leaders appear to think that if this group is to return to the party, it will be Webb who brings them back.

The last two presidential elections revealed a country as deeply divided as Virginia — if Webb can take down a popular incumbent Republican there, it’s not a stretch to believe he can attract swing voters across the country. Since his arrival on Capitol Hill, Webb has been in the spotlight.

He was asked to give the Democratic response to the State of the Union address, and he gave a speech that focused on Iraq and economic fairness. He stands with leadership at news conferences, including the conference Saturday following the Republican blocking of continued debate on a resolution condemning the White House’s Iraq strategy. He has become in many ways the face of Democratic opposition to the Bush administration, with his message already affecting the national debate on these issues.

“We’re very much affecting the dialogue on Iraq, on Iran, on the Middle East, on national security. We’re developing the right kind of dialogue, not just in committee hearings but off-line with people who are decision-makers,” Webb said. “When the president goes up to the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the State of the Union and talks about unfair executive compensation — where did that come from? Did he ever say that before? The things I care about, we’re going to stay on them. I think we’ve already had some impact.”

Webb said this debate gives Democrats an opportunity to reach out to working-class voters in red states, voters with values similar to his, to change American politics.

“The Scotch-Irish — this is the core ethnic group around which red-state America is built. It’s very inclusive culturally,” he said. “If you could get this cultural group — largely red-state, working-class whites — if you can bring them to the same table with African-Americans, you can remake the dynamics of the American political system.”

“I strongly believe that the interests between urban blacks and rural whites are more shared than probably any two ethnic groups in the whole country,” he said. “The story of the American South has never been black against white; it’s always been a veneer at the top manipulating black against white. If you can break that barrier down, you can change American politics.”

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com