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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (750760)	10/2/2006 12:14:27 PM
From: pompsander	Respond to of 769670

Gaffes put presidential hopeful Allen in trouble By David Wiessler 35 minutes ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record), once cruising to re-election with an eye on a White House run in 2008, bought extra television time on Monday in a sign he is fighting for his political life after a series of gaffes. ADVERTISEMENT The Virginia Republican decided to go on a local television station for two minutes the week after polls showed his once-formidable lead shrinking to almost nothing. A McClatchy Newspapers/ MSNBC poll on Friday showed Allen in a dead heat with his Democratic opponent, former Republican James Webb. The two men each had the support of 43 percent of registered voters. The poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Other recent polls have the race close, with Allen slightly ahead. "The crystal ball has changed its rating of this race from likely Republican to leans Republican to reflect new developments," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. But Sabato pointed out that Virginia still is a Republican state and Allen had a major financial advantage over Webb. "What is true today may not be in November," he said. Allen, a former governor of Virginia and the son of a famous football coach of the same name, was a rising Republican star in the Senate after he defeated Democratic Sen. Charles Robb in 2000. He was chosen to head the party's Senate campaign committee that helped Republicans pick up four seats in 2004. It was well known that Allen had ambitions for the Republican presidential nomination in two years and his 2006 re-election seemed like just something to get through on the way. After a contested primary, the Democrats nominated Webb, who had been a member of the party for only a few years, to oppose him. Polls during the summer had Allen ahead by almost 20 points before the controversies began. "There's been so much damage, he's out of the presidential race," Sabato said. IT STARTED WITH 'MACACA' Allen's problems began when he referred to a Webb campaign aide who was taking pictures of Allen at a rally as "macaca" -- an African monkey which is sometimes used as a racial slur -- and said "welcome to America." The aide was an American of Indian descent. Allen apologized but a series of events further damaged his reputation. He fumbled the news of his Jewish heritage and several former acquaintances said he had used derogatory terms for black people in the past. His affection for things symbolic of the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War was publicized. Attempts to distance himself from the Confederacy got him in trouble with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who thought he was apologizing too much. In many of these cases, Allen seemed to be groping for an explanation and some saw that as more damaging than the gaffes themselves. Webb's campaign has not been without controversy. Once the secretary of the Navy under Republican President Ronald Reagan, Webb used a quote by Reagan praising him in one of his ads, bringing a rebuke from Nancy Reagan, the president's widow. And comments he made years ago disparaging women in the Navy got him in hot water with some women. Webb and Allen have clashed over Iraq, with Allen supporting President George W. Bush's policy and Webb, a decorated Marine with a son serving in Iraq, opposing the war. But the gaffes have defined their race. To the consternation of both candidates, the Virginia race has become a staple of late night television comics. NBC's "Tonight Show" host, Jay Leno, opened a recent show by saying, "In the time it took me to walk out here, Senator George Allen insulted five more ethnic groups."