There are TWO major pieces in today's Washington Post keeping the story alive for a bit longer. One is an analysis/opinion by Mike Allen and the other is continued coverage by Michael Shear and Leef Smith, who have been handling the the news coverage of the story. Both appear on the front of their respective sections, the new story at the top of the Metro section, and the analysis on the bottom right of the Outlook section. I will, below the fold, offer a glimpse at each.
First, the news story by Shear and Smith. It has a long title:
For One Group, 'Macaca' Recalls Slurs After 9/11 and is subtitled "Many Indian Americans Are Disturbed by Allen's Remarks, but Some See a Chance to Strengthen an Alliance". You can see by the subtitle the attempt to "provide balance." While I encourage you to read the article, let me offer just a couple of snippets and then some comments. The article begins with a description of the story spreading in the Indian community in N Virginia,including concerns that have existed sine 9-11 and then offers this paragraph:
Dolly Oberoi, chief executive of a Northern Virginia technology company, heard what Allen said to a 20-year-old Indian American from Fairfax County replayed on the radio Monday while driving home from work. "To me it sounded like, 'You dirty kid, get out of my way,' " Oberoi said. "That was very painful to a lot of people."
A bit later the story returns to Oberoi:
But it was the scene -- of a senator singling out a member of her community in front of a mostly white crowd -- that affected Oberoi more than any word. It smacked of insults directed at her since terrorists, none of whom were Indian, attacked the Pentagon and World Trade Center nearly five years ago.
The article offers some details about the Indian American community. Let me offer two snips:
Virginia is home to about 80,000 adults with Indian ancestry, most of whom live in Northern Virginia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In interviews across the state last week, many said they were offended and disappointed by the comments from the one-term Republican senator and former governor
and also:
The Indian American community in Virginia began expanding dramatically in the 1960s and '70s, when an influx of highly educated young immigrants began arriving. Many were engineers, doctors or teachers who settled in Washington's suburbs.
Thirty years later, the community has broadened and matured, civic leaders say. Many of its members are successful, especially in the region's information technology industries. And they are tight, placing a high value on sharing information quickly. When Allen's comments became public, the video link was sent nearly instantly across a very wired community.
You can read the rest of the article on your own. What I want to focus on is the demographics of this group. Economically and professionally they should be more akin to the Republicans than the Democrats. Thus anyone turned off by Allen's remarks might represent a net gain fo 2 votes for Webb, one from Allen and one to Webb. They are also affluent, with a propensity to put money behind causes that matter to them. I have heard anecdotal evidence of some increased donations to the Webb campaign from this community.
But I want to offer a caution, and it is on the number involved in high tech. Allen is a strong supporter of H1B visas for high tech workers, and that is something important to many Indian-Americans. It is an issue on which Webb gained support from American high tech workers versus his primary opponent Harris Miller. Thus the difference between Webb and Allen on things like visas and outsourcing could serve to temper the damage the remarks to to Allen's support in the Indian-American community.
Now to the analysis/opinion. Entitled
A Tale of Two Pols, there is above the title in bold the following two-word phrase: CURIOUS GEORGES. Mike Allen has spent half of his journalism career covering either George Allen or George Bush. When one goes to the jump on the story, on page 2 of Outlook, the headline there is, to me, devastating:
Is George Allen George Bush Lite?
I should warn people that this is NOT a devastating takedown of George Allen. In fact, the op ed could be read as opining that Allen, while he may have done himself some damage, might still be viable, although Mike Allen does offer the requisite skepticism. Let me jump to the final paragraph of the piece to show what I mean:
The senator's backers insist that Republicans want a winner more than anything else and that if their man trounces Webb in November, the party will sleep off any Bush fatigue in a big hurry. You reckon?
Allen (Mike, the reporter, not George, the Senator - I know, that will be confusing) makes clear the connection between the two Georges. His second paragraph perhaps sets the tone:
Indeed, the uncanny echoes of George W. Bush's career have fueled the hopes of Allen backers that he would be Bush's presidential heir. But as Bush's popularity has slumped, Allen's 2008 outlook has dimmed. Worse, last week's bizarre Allen insult of a rival's young campaign aide has revived old questions about his sensitivity, temper and smarts. Some high-level Republicans warn that if he's not careful, he may wind up branded as Bush without the brains.
I am not going to excerpt more of the piece -- you can easily read it on your own. I think even though M Allen offers some of the arguments presented by advocates of G Allen, there are enough "digs" to keep the bleeding going for a while long. Bush without the brains is about as nasty a line as I can imagine.
Of greater importance, that the Post has two pieces flogging the story does keep it alive, especially in N Virginia, which just so happens to be where most of Indian background in the Old Dominion reside. The film is still being played - I watched several end of week news talk shows and with the exception of McLaughlin the gaffe was a featured story. While I don't expect it to continue at this rate, a run of almost a week is pretty good.
I would be interested if those in other parts of the country are still seeing coverage of the story.