OK, WebbHeads-Let's REFOCUS: "People know me...They don't look at me as a BUSH REPUBLICAN."

There is nothing about Harris Miller, except for the mention that he is also running in the Democratic primary.

Some great quotes below the fold....
Great title...
Allen's Ambitions Held Up by Va. Campaign

These are the opening lines of the article, and I love it!
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Republican Sen. George Allen had hoped for an easy slide to re-election and, from there, a launching pad to the presidency.

So far, it hasn't worked out that way.

Here's some Webb love...
Virginia Democrats on June 13 will choose Allen's opponent-either former Reagan administration Navy Secretary James H. Webb or businessman Harris Miller. Many national party leaders say Webb, a Republican-turned-Democrat and best-selling author, is their best hope for taking the seat.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...Allen is MAD!
Allen accuses unnamed Democratic forces of running a smear campaign against him.

"I have no question that national Democrats are after me," the former Virginia governor said in an interview.

OK, and this is just nasty....
"This is my kinda place!" Allen shouted. He picked thin slices of beef from the buffet tray, tilted his head back and dangled the meat above his mouth before dropping it in.

"My kinda place!"

And after that gross fest, here is something LAME for your enjoyment...
An aide tossed him a football. The football gets tossed at every Allen event-one ritual among many that raises the question of whether his country-boy shtick is affected as it is effective.

And here is the waffler, trying to explain his affair with the confederate flag, and his love of racism (unless he is paying folks of all colors to go to events and wear an allen T-Shirt to make him look sexy and popular)...
Pinching his lower lip between two fingers, Allen yanks it down to his chin and smears a gooey dab of smokeless tobacco along his gums. He is answering questions about an article in The New Republic magazine that details his past affinity with symbols of the bygone South.

Allen used to keep a Confederate flag in his living room, a noose in his law office and a picture of Confederate troops in his governor's office.

He said he knows better now.

"I understand how ..." He paused briefly and starts again. "People over the years ..." Another pause. "I've grown."

The Confederate flag is not just a symbol of regional pride, Allen said. "For many people, it represents segregation or represents racism and I recognize that."

Ah, but the journalist calls him out on this, aHEM, "tradition...."
But for all his folksy, down-home pretense, Allen has no Dixie roots.  His father, also named George Allen, was a famed football coach who kept his family on the move. The senator was born in California, lived in the Chicago suburbs for eight years, returned to California for high school and attended college in Virginia after his father became head coach of the Washington Redskins.

In his high school yearbook photo, Allen is wearing a Confederate flag pin. He said he cannot remember why, but suspects the pin was part of a nonconformist phase. He said a pal wore one too.

"We probably did it for some sort of-I don't know what you call it-for the fun of it," Allen said, spitting tobacco juice between his cowboy boots. "It wasn't any major statement."

The journalist goes on to include more info from the New republic article, and issues of concern from George Allen's sister's book.  He also quotes Larry Sabato and his feeling on how Allen and his views will not sit well with many constituents.

But the closing is the best, for us people that know better...
By most accounts, Allen was a popular one-term governor. He presided over the GOP realignment of Virginia politics and easily won passage of his legislative priorities: abolishing parole, downsizing welfare and imposing education standards. He also evolved politically, entering office as a fierce partisan and leaving a more mellow pragmatist.

He has changed as a senator, too, shifting toward the right on assault weapons and gay rights, drawing charges of flip-flopping from Democrats.

Allen's voting record in the Senate tracks closely with Bush's agenda, but he does not play that up.

"People know me. They don't look at me as a Bush Republican," he said. Allen argued that the distance has nothing to do with Bush's anemic approval ratings, which have Republican candidates everywhere running for cover. And yet, Allen has no problem calling himself a Reagan Republican.

He said he is focused on the fall. But he cannot ignore the future.

"Hello, Mr. President!" shouted a supporter as he grabbed Allen's hand.

"Well," replied the slick Southern charmer, "let's win this one first."

UGH.  He makes me so sick.  Remember, this is our motivation!  We MUST beat this slime!!!!!

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