Who's The Real Virginian?

Just a few short months ago, political observers predicted Virginia's Senator George Allen would have an easy time getting re-elected. Many even predicted he would make a run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. And what of Allen's Democratic opponent, James Webb? He was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb with no chance of winning. And if anyone had suggested that the two would be in a statistical dead heat three weeks before election day, that person would have been branded a lunatic.

Yet here it is, the middle of October, and a new poll shows precisely that: The race between Allen and Webb is now a toss up.

Allen's slide began in August when the Senator singled out a Webb campaign worker at one of his own rallies in southwest Virginia, called him a macaca, and welcomed him to the "real Virginia."

It is worth noting at this point that while the Webb volunteer, S.R. Sidarth, was dark skinned and of Indian descent, Allen's audience was entirely white.

In his apology, Allen insisted that he had just made the word up, had never heard it before, and had absolutely no idea that it is used as a racial slur in some European countries against Africans. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, maybe, except that Allen's mother is French and was born in Tunisia, a former French colony.

Hmmm.... Suddenly it appears he may not have made up the word after all.

Since then things have only gone downhill for the Senator. For example, at a press conference he was asked if it was true his grandmother was Jewish. Allen angrily denounced the question. Then it turned out that she had only recently revealed to Allen that yes, she was indeed Jewish. Allen's initial reaction, coupled with the subsequent admission, caused many to wonder just what Allen had against Jews in the first place.

Then allegations surfaced that back when he played football at the University of Virginia, Allen repeatedly used the word "nigger" in front of several teammates. No word on whether Allen understands that some people consider that word to be racist.

In addition to hurting Allen's campaign, all these incidents have also served to embarrass the people of Virginia. Many late night comics are having a field day portraying Virginia as some sort of uneducated backwater state.

It should also be noted that another thing that is beginning to seriously hurt Allen is his unwavering support of George Bush and the war in Iraq. Even as more information about the various deceptions used to to justify the conflict continues to come out, Allen maintains his steadfast support for the President and his failed policies.

Oh, and the best part of the macaca episode? Sidarth was born and raised in Fairfax county, Virginia. George Allen was born and raised in California. He only ended up in Virginia after his father took the head coaching job for the Redskins back in the early '70s.

That means that Sidarth is more of a Virginian than George Allen.