Tuesday, August 15, 2006
George Allen is not my candidate
I don't know whether George Allen's campaign is in jeopardy, but I do know that I very much hope the Republicans do not nominate him in 2008. I was unimpressed when he met with various of us at a Senate blogger event back in November (then, largely because of his lack of candor in a setting that should have promoted it), and I don't think that this episode -- in which he weirdly mocked an Indian-American Democratic activist -- reflects well on him. I have no idea whether Allen is racist or even merely "insensitive," but the encounter -- if it happened as the Post says it did -- suggests that he is not a kind or classy person. None of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, or either George Bush would have mocked the one "person of color" standing out in a crowd of white Virginians, even if he worked for the opposition.
MORE: Jonah thinks Allen is dumb, rather than racist. I don't think this is evidence that he is racist, either, but it makes it hard to argue that he is classy enough to be president. That, I recognize, is a matter of taste.
BONUS!: Rich Lowry channels me.
6 Comments:
By 
, at
Tue Aug 15, 02:35:00 PM:
I don't have an opinion about Allen one way or the other at the moment - but this thing has clearly been blown out of proportion/misrepresented in the Post. The guy stood out not because he is an "Indian-American" but because he has been trailing Allen everywhere with a video camera. You should know better than to believe everything you read in the MSM. It might be Webb you should be criticizing for playing these kinds of games.
By 
demosophist, at
Tue Aug 15, 02:57:00 PM:
I used to be from Virginia before moving to NJ, and am singularly unimpressed with George Allen. At least George W. Bush was the son of a famous man who was also a reasonably adept politician. George Allen's primary claim, prior to being elected to a lackluster career as Governor, was the fact that his father was the superbowl-winning coach of the Redskins. I agree with Jonah, he's a bit of a dim bulb.
And we could stand to have a President named "Newt" anyway.
By , at
Tue Aug 15, 03:41:00 PM:
By Counter Trey, at
Tue Aug 15, 04:33:00 PM:
It is on You Tube already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G7gq7GQ71c&eurl=
And, no, it is not nearly as bad as the Post reported. The laughing was in response to exposing his opponent's worker and his video camera and Allen stating that his opponent was in Hollywood raising money, so it would be good for him to see what Virginia looked like on the video tape.
As for whether he is bright enough to run the country, if we had listened to the MSM on that topic we'd be dealing with President Gore's second term and waiting for Kerry to succeed him. I'd rather take my chances with Allen. And, it turns out that Bush has a higher IQ than Kerry anyway.
By Counter Trey, at
Tue Aug 15, 04:45:00 PM:
Demosophist,
George Allen (Sr.) never won a Super Bowl.
Let's see...Junior campaigned for and became, first, the Governor and then a Senator of Virginia. He was responsible for fundraising for and organizing the Senate Republicans in the last election in which Republicans reclaimed the majority....Nah, you're right, your resume is probably better than his...
By cakreiz, at
Wed Aug 16, 03:05:00 PM:
Sight unseen, I figured Allen would get the nomination simply as a function of being the most Bush-like. In the wake of the anti-Bush sentiment, howeveron, one would think that being slow isn't a plus. I'm still skeptical that the GOP will nominate McCain. Lots of mainline Reps strongly dislike him. Which leaves... um, well not too much.
