Sheesh. With defenders like these, maybe George Felix Allen Junior
should go back to self-incrimination. From
Hotline:
According to two Republicans who heard the word used, "macaca" was a mash-up of "Mohawk," referring to Sidarth's distinctive hair, and "caca," Spanish slang for excrement, or "shit."
Said one Republican close to the campaign: "In other words, he was a shit-head, an annoyance."
Umm. Okay. I guess it's time to put that little incident behind us. "Shithead" seeming so much more ... senatorial and all. Keep on talking, guys.
Leaving the entertaining but regrettably R-rated version of George Felix Allen Junior news, it looks like Bill Clinton has committed to doing some old-fashioned fundraising for Jim Webb, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch:
Former president to help Webb in Senate campaign
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Webb has snared the big guy -- former President Bill Clinton -- to help him raise money for his Senate race.
A spokeswoman said the time and place for Clinton's visit have yet to be worked out.
Webb is running against U.S. Sen. George Allen, a Republican, who ended the June 30 fundraising period with a $6 million edge over Webb.
Expect that $6 million edge to dry up pretty quickly with Clinton on the case and George Felix Allen Junior's explanations - and those of his Republican "friends" - rolling out by the hour.
And oh, yeah, there's also the factor of a feisty Webb campaign that doesn't hesitate to use the "L" word. According to CNN, campaign manager Jessica Vanden Berg responded quickly to Allen's assertion in his "apology" that Webb is out of touch with his home state:
Vanden Berg said Webb's "family and roots are in southwestern Virginia," and he has lived in Falls Church "for a number of years."
During the Senate campaign, she said, he has traveled extensively throughout the state. "So to say that Jim doesn't know Virginia is a lie," she said.
For once, the traditional media is all over the "macaca" remark, according to AP, and newspapers far and wide are taking George Felix Allen Junior to the political woodshed:
Sen. George Allen, R-Va., has gotten a lashing from newspaper editorial boards and the Indian-American community even after his apology for calling his opponent's campaign worker "macaca."
In addition to a scathing New York Times editorial, Virginia papers such as the Roanoke Times, the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot and the Charlottesville Daily Progress have spoken out against Allen's choice of words and questioned his future political, including possible White House aspirations.
The AP story also has the following line in it, which conjures up visions of a frantic Allen campaign staff poring over videos and debating whether someone is one of those "minority types" or just has a terrific country club suntan:
An Allen campaign spokesman said Sidarth was not the only nonwhite person at the rally in Breaks, near the Kentucky border.
Yeah, I think Bill Clinton might be able to help Webb take these bozos down. Let's help him get a head start on closing that $6 million gap.
