George Allen, It Was a Pleasure Knowin' Ya!

Strike George Allen from the list of potential presidential candidates for 2008 (Not that you haven't already). Strangely, I had a dream not too long ago that I was a member of Allen's presidential staff and was being questioned by Newt Gingrich about my conservatism...

Well, it wasn't Allen's conservatism or lack thereof that beat him; instead, he absolutely bungled and fumbled his way to a lost election. In a collapse reminiscent of Greg Norman's meltdown in the 1996 Masters, Allen saw his lead in the polls and on election night evaporate before his, and our, eyes. I mean, this guy was the conservative choice for president only a few months ago. Now, he'll perhaps be preserved in dictionaries for his Youtubian reference to the obscure "macaca." It is inexplicable, really, as to why Allen did this. You can blame obsessive nutroots behavior if you want, but all Allen had to do was rise above it. After all, that's not too much to ask of a presidential hopeful.

It didn't stop there, however. One racial slur led to allegations of many others and both sides became embroiled in who said what when. Unfortunately, the last image I'll probably have of a political Allen is of him smirking while accusing Jim Webb of composing salacious and pornographic prose. It was sadly emblematic of a campaign in the dregs.

To Allen's credit, though, he almost pulled out a victory. He wasn't blown-out and will probably have another chance to fight back into the Senate. But this is a major case of what might have been both for Allen and conservatives.