In this video, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb is the first Democrat to announce the formation of an exploratory committee in the race for the 2016 presidential nomination:

And oh my God it's just so boring. In very broad language, Webb promises to end the gridlock in Washington and help the middle class, somehow. He tosses some generic words in the direction of income inequality. He has no specifics to announce. As in every one of these announcement speeches, Webb is interested in selling his biography (he served one term in the Senate and he did something bipartisan while he was there) and aspiring to the best of America. And it works, basically. It's a generic announcement speech, but it's not bad. Webb's got kind of the same cadence to his speech as George W. Bush, which is a little unsettling.

But Webb's primarily a conservative Democrat, and I just can't see him finding any footing in the current political climate. I think conservative Democrats are pretty happy with Hillary Clinton, and I think Webb knows that, which is why he devotes a couple minutes of his video to income inequality. But he showed none of the passion or particulars here to indicate why he should be saved from obscurity.

Speaking of generic white-guy presidential announcements, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is getting serious about building 2016 campaign. In addition to being maybe the most anti-labor Republican in the country, James Hohmann says Walker is planning an agenda that includes the repeal of Common Core standards and the introduction of a law demanding that welfare recipients take drug tests. On paper Walker is a strong candidate, but in reality he's less exciting than Tim Pawlenty. Even with his strict conservative record, he's going to have to learn how to spruce himself up. Maybe when Walker takes his charisma lessons, he'll let Webb peek in the window and score a few pointers.