Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Wash Post Covers The Allen Racism Story...

...and runs it on Page B01. No new allegations here, but they have Stu Rothenberg assess the damage that macacagate, the "I'm not Jewish/Oh, all right - I am Jewish" controversy and now the allegations that Allen repeatedly used the 'n' word has done to Allen's political future:

Stuart Rothenberg, an independent analyst who edits the Rothenberg Political Report, said the senator is caught in a media frenzy that threatens his campaign and his consideration of a possible run for president in 2008.

"Every day, the campaign is about who George Allen is or what he said," Rothenberg said Monday. "It keeps him totally off message. He's constantly responding to charges and criticisms and his own stumbles."

Hotline blog knows just what might fix Allen's ailing campaign - negative ads aimed at his opponent - and documents the "rage" many in the Allen campaign are feeling over the furor:

One prominent Allen supporter we talked to is full of rage. His argument is that this freeding frenzy is profoundly unfair. That Salon is a liberal publication with an agenda. That James Webb's remarks about ethnicity and women have been virtually ignored. That the press is ignoring the contradictions in the story of one of Allen's accusers. That the press is giving literally millions of dollars worth of free media oxygen to Webb's campaign. That the press is betraying its elitism -- its gut-level desire to drive Allen to an early political grave. But this supporter worries most about the effect of these stories on conservatives. Redstate keeps up the fight, but the Weekly Standard's article is more indicative of Beltway opinion.

How can Allen win? He'll go negative on Webb. In a vacuum, negative ads move the chains. But right now, to borrow a football metahpor, Allen has had poor field position for several quarters and can't seem to convert on third downs.

To break out of the metaphor, almost: Changing the momentum of the game is just a lot harder when your own negative ratings are rising.

It's going to get really, really muddy. As Hotline notes, that's the only way George Allen can survive. Luckily for Allen, the man who kept a noose on his desk by his Confederate flag, he's got no problem doing dirt to somebody.

One final note on Allen: Professor Larry Sabato, who stated last night on Hardball that he knows for a fact that George Allen has used the 'n' word in the past to refer to black people, attended the University of Virginia at the same time as Allen. They both graduated in 1974. Presumably Sabato knows for a fact that Allen used the 'n' word because he has heard him use it.

Comments:
Just to chip in,

I don't know where it is out there, but there's a story floating around about Allen and a friend taking the head off a deer that they shot and looking for an anonymous black person's house at which to leave it.

I don't know the credibility, but Chris Matthews and an MSNBC anchor were discussing it over lunch, so it's made the mainstream.

Mike
 
The deer story is pretty horrific. Matthews spent a lot of time on Hardball talking about it too.

Allen is going to have one helluva bad week.

Maybe by next week he'll be able to get some of the focus away from him and back onto Webb?

He's lost three weeks now to damage control while Webb basically was able to put the misogyny charges to rest, at least for now.

I have a feeling something nasty will come out about Webb (perhaps true/perhaps not) within the next week or so. It's the only way Allen can get back on track.
 
Came back by to leave a link. Crooks and liars has the deerhead thing with Chris Matthews.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/26/macaca-allen-and-the-deer-head/

I think Allen is sinking, but I'm still not convinced Webb wins unless there's something positive to put him over the top.

So, yeah, I definitely think there will be a pushback of some type to try to stop Webb from going over.

(That positive thing may just be winning a couple of polls.)

And once more, there were people in the GOP touting this guy as the front runner in 2008. Un-believable.

Mike
 
Off topic, but have you seen the spin on Clinton's remark? I watched Marcia Kramer do a hatchet job on the afternoon news today. Fox is working overtime with it.

If they don't respond, they're wimps. If they do, they're angry and scary.
 
mike, Matthews himself was touting Allen as the "heir to Bush" just a few months ago - a sort of anti-McCain who could carry the conservative base, the evangelicals and the hawks.

But not anymore.

That's an astute comment you made about Allen just needing to win a poll or two in the next week or so. If he's still ahead after all three messes, the CW will be Webb can't do him in (but his presidential ambitons are over.)

We'll see. I'm not convinced Webb can get over the hump here either. Virginia is turning purplish, but it's not quite there yet and I'm not so sure the "n" word thing hurts him as bad in this campaign as it does for '08.

nyc educator, those are the two memes they always fall back on - Dems are weak or angry. Remember when they tried it against Kerry after the convention? They managed to tar Dean w/ it. If Gore runs in 08, you will deifnitely see the "He's too angry to be president" meme trotted out. They've also tried it with HRC, but she's more measured in her speaking tones (some might say she's monotone and sleep-inducing), so the "She's too angry" stuff doesn't work so well with her.
 
This story hasn't really been covered in the UK until today. It received a small amount of coverage in The Guardian in the International section. I truly hope this guy gets kicked out (along with as many of his Republican buddies as possible).
 
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