Wednesday, August 23, 2006
George Allen Headlined
Sen. George Allen's "macaca" gaffe is the story that keeps on going and going and going like the Everready Energizer bunny. Heretofore, Allen will forever be mentioned with a sidebar of the incident.
First Read of MSNBC headlines today's issue with George Allen; and how Pres. George Bush is dropping in Virginia for a private fundraiser; and of course, good ol' el Señor Macaca makes a cameo appearance.
Now ain't that the truth!As Sen. George Allen might warn the White House, the political news doldrums of August can be dangerous. Certain comments have a way of catching on -- particularly when they're rife with implications for presidential politics.
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Today, Bush raises money for Allen, [is] still grappling with a widely publicized comment...He's also the Republican presidential candidate who might have the most riding on the outcome of the midterm elections because he's pretty much the 2008 version of, well, Bush.
Also add the fact that Allen faces a great challenger in the form of former Navy Secretary Jim Webb; a man who is a thousand times more qualified than the goober junior senator.A self-styled folksy former Virginia governor who grew up on a coast (California, not Connecticut), Allen picked up the twang and some other accessories (cowboy boots, Copenhagen) of his adopted South. He has been an Establishment favorite in the 2008 field by virtue of being conservative enough, mainstream enough, and not overtly ideological. He's even got the sports pedigree (football coach's son, not baseball team owner), and sometimes tosses a football with the crowd at speeches, just in case anyone forgets. Indeed, the resemblance between Allen and Bush is striking enough that it's doubtful Allen could shake it off, if he were ever to try.
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Today's fundraiser should not be taken as Bush's endorsement of whatever presidential aspirations Allen might be harboring. It's to benefit Allen's re-election bid, an effort which was expected to be easy at first and has become more difficult lately due to some self-inflicted damage (can you say "macaca") and to the overall poor climate for Republicans.
