There has been a good deal of chatter on how Kaine's victory bodes well for Mark Warner and how Kilgore's defeat bodes poorly for Bush. That's all fine and good. But why does Sen. George Allen get off so easy? Here's an example of the free pass he's getting:
President George Bush stumped for Kilgore in the last hours of the race, and Sen. George Allen--widely mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2008--campaigned for Kilgore and appeared in television ads with him. Meanwhile, Kaine had Warner, also a possible entrant in the 2008 presidential race, squarely in his corner, on the trail and in TV ads.Analysts say Kilgore's loss doesn't reflect well on Bush.
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Allen may not be terribly affected by Kilgore's loss, because while he stumped for Kilgore, there was no expectation that Allen's support would be key to a Kilgore victory.
"Sure, Allen made ads for Kilgore and campaigned for Kilgore, but when people are pointing fingers in the Republican Party about what went wrong in this election, the Kilgore people are going to blame Bush, the Bush people are going to blame Kilgore, nobody's going to particularly blame George Allen," said University of Mary Washington professor Stephen Farnsworth.
"Warner's political aspirations clearly get a boost by the success of the Democratic ticket. I don't think it hurts Allen all that much. Allen's presidential fortunes have been improving because of the Bush administration's troubles, because it eliminates the real possibility that Jeb Bush might run. Allen's fortunes are significantly affected by what goes on outside Virginia."
Warner's reputation, much more than Allen's, was tied to this race, Farnsworth said. The victory of his protege only boosts his profile.
Well, that's all fine and good -- Warner's reputation was certainly more on the line than Allen's. But Allen is supposed to be a rising star who's ready for prime time in 2008. He is closely aligned to the Bush power structure in D.C. He is a sitting Senator in a supposed "safe seat." However, none of that saved Kilgore. Allen's boy got blown out back home, making it clear that Allen's ads and stumping in Virginia this year did not have the intended power.
So, the experts may not see any overt trouble for Allen right now. But clearly he did not do himself any favors by showing such a staggering lack of strength in 2005 in the face of Warner's flexing, making him a possible target for the Democrats in 2006. If Allen has any weakness in Virginia, the GOP wonder if he has any real cache outside of Virginia.