Former Sen. Jim Webb said if he chooses to run for president his campaign won't be as flashy as others with big money.
"We're never going to have this financial leviathan machine that will pulling $2.5 million as some people do," the Virginia Democrat said Sunday on CNN's
"State of the Union."
"I'm never going to have a political consultant at my side whispering what I should say or how I should dress or whether I ought to go to Wal-Mart or not."
But Webb, former secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan, said he does have long experience on the issues in and out of government and strong beliefs about where the country needs to go.
"When you get the political commentators at a table, one of the first things they talk about is can you raise $1 billion," Webb said, "and I think what the average person in our country is looking at is can you lead."
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the only Democrat to formally announce a White House run, but Webb told CNN host Jim Scuitto he is "looking at it hard.
"We had a good visit to Iowa, and I will be going back in about a week," Webb said.
He declined to criticize Clinton, who leads all other Democrats handily, but said he believes the public has "incumbent fatigue" and is looking for fresh approaches to solving the country's problems.
Webb also weighed in on the bipartisan bill requiring congressional approval of a final nuclear deal with Iran.
"I do not believe you can have a legally binding international commitment without the full consent of the Congress," Webb said, adding that he had the same opinion during his years in the Senate.
"I said this when the Bush administration was putting the framework agreement in Iraq in '08; I said it when President Obama said he was going to have a binding legal arrangement with respect to climate change," he said. "You cannot do that without the specific consent of the Congress."
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