For a little while, it looked like Allen might get what he really wanted, which was no opponent at all. However, a relatively unknown candidate - Harris Miller, from Fairfax County - has tossed his hat into the ring. . . .. . . [This is ] not the political scenario Allen was hoping for. Nationally, the Democrats are very pleased that Allen has an opponent. As chairman of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee in 2004, Allen's skills as recruiter, fundraiser and tactician helped the party take back the Senate. This year, with his successor to that job, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., not doing nearly as well in the position as Allen had done, many national Republicans were hoping Allen could take to the road to help them out. He can still do that of course, but now, by virtue of having an opponent, he has to spend time in Virginia or face the possibility of an unpleasant surprise.
Behind all of this are Allen's plans to run for president. Not only did he want to spend 2006 helping other Republicans, he also wanted to spend some time in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. This won't be so simple. By contrast, two of his prospective opponents for the GOP nomination for the White House, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, neither of whom has a re-election fight to worry about, have lots of time to run for president.
...But it does mean that the time he had hoped to spend campaigning for other Republicans and running for president is going to have to be severely curtailed. And that's certainly not the way Allen had wanted to spend his year.
And now with Webb in the race, Allen's dream scenario is long gone:
Former Navy Secretary James Webb (D) is set to formally launch a Senate bid in Virginia, a move that increases the likelihood that Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) will see a competitive race that garners national attention this November.Allen, who many believed would coast to re-election after former Gov. Mark Warner (D) declined to run, now faces the prospect of having to spend heavily from the considerable resources he had been squirreling away for a highly likely 2008 White House bid. . . .
Let us shed a tear for Sen. Allen! He might actually have to campaign for reelection before kangaroo jumping right into a race for 2008. How long would he actually act as our Senator before hitting the trail in Iowa and New Hampshire - a month, maybe two? I'm glad he'll definitely have to pay some attention to Virginia this year - though he hasn't exactly been paying attention to his duties in the Senate lately.