On November 28, 2006, at a White House reception for those newly elected to Congress, Webb did not choose to wait in the line to have his picture taken with the president, whom Webb often criticized during the campaign.
The president approached Webb later and asked him, "How's your boy?",
referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.
Webb replied "I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President."
Bush responded, "That's not what I asked you.
How's your boy?",
Webb responded, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President."
The Hill cited an anonymous source who claimed that Webb was so angered by the exchange that he confessed he was tempted to "slug" the president.
Webb later remarked in an interview, "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall."

In response to the incident, some conservatives criticized Webb, including George Will, who called Webb a "boor" and wrote, "[Webb] already has become what Washington did not need another of, a subtraction from the city's civility and clear speaking."
Others, such as conservative columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, reserved their criticism for Bush, writing: "I thought it had the sound of the rattling little aggressions of our day, but not on Mr. Webb's side."

Webb was asked about the exchange in a January 4, 2007 appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews.
He told Matthews:
My feeling about that – first of all, it's been kind of a bit overblown.
But I think when people are now seeing how John McCain is handling the situation with his son being in the Marine Corps, perhaps they can understand a little bit more what I was having to go through during the entire campaign.
I greatly respect my son's service and all of the people who are serving.
At the same time, I have not commented, even to many of my friends, about the operational side.
That's personal to me in terms of my feelings about it.
And it was not a casual comment.
As I said in the piece that you just ran, I think the best article that was written on that was by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal when she basically said that the lack of civility was not mine and I feel that way.

After his son returned from Iraq, Webb "buried the hatchet" with the president by setting up a private chat with his son, the president, and himself in the Oval Office.
On November 28, 2006, at a White House reception for those newly elected to Congress, Webb did not choose to wait in the line to have his picture taken with the president, whom Webb often criticized during the campaign. The president approached Webb later and asked him, "How's your boy?", referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq. Webb replied "I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President." Bush responded, "That's not what I asked you. How's your boy?", Webb responded, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President." The Hill cited an anonymous source who claimed that Webb was so angered by the exchange that he confessed he was tempted to "slug" the president. Webb later remarked in an interview, "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall."
In response to the incident, some conservatives criticized Webb, including George Will, who called Webb a "boor" and wrote, "[Webb] already has become what Washington did not need another of, a subtraction from the city's civility and clear speaking." Others, such as conservative columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, reserved their criticism for Bush, writing: "I thought it had the sound of the rattling little aggressions of our day, but not on Mr. Webb's side."
Webb was asked about the exchange in a January 4, 2007 appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews. He told Matthews:
My feeling about that – first of all, it's been kind of a bit overblown. But I think when people are now seeing how John McCain is handling the situation with his son being in the Marine Corps, perhaps they can understand a little bit more what I was having to go through during the entire campaign. I greatly respect my son's service and all of the people who are serving. At the same time, I have not commented, even to many of my friends, about the operational side. That's personal to me in terms of my feelings about it. And it was not a casual comment. As I said in the piece that you just ran, I think the best article that was written on that was by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal when she basically said that the lack of civility was not mine and I feel that way.
After his son returned from Iraq, Webb "buried the hatchet" with the president by setting up a private chat with his son, the president, and himself in the Oval Office.
Jim Webb