as seen in the Ryan Lizza article and his previous behaviors, I think he may well be.  And he is going to have some trouble dealing with this, as things look now.

I was inclined to give Allen the benefit of the doubt 24 hours ago.  In some sense, what's past is past, and Allen was certainly making steps in the right direction in recent months.  It's no longer cynical though to say that Allen was simply trying to sanitize his image for a broader audience in preparation for his presidential run.

It's hard to say what the fall out will be across the state.  However, in NoVA I think this story could have a real impact. 

I also think that Allen has inadvertently given the Webb campaign a great fundraising boost.  I would not at all be surprised to see a significant boost in small dollar donors over the next 48 hours.  This is also the type of move that could move the DSCC a few steps closer to pushing this race more seriously.

As far as MSM coverage goes, we'll have to wait and see.  Based on the Washington Post's website it looks like this may be running as a front page story tomorrow (it's listed as A01 by the writer byline).  If the Post runs this front page it's hard not to see other news outlets running with this story.  When a sitting Senator makes a remark along these lines it is a newsworthy event. 

What makes Allen's comment even more heinous than the Trent Lott comment is that Allen targetted a lone minority in a room full of white people.  I think this fact will resonate with many minorities and causasians with conscience.  Allen's apology in the Washington Post was a smart move from a political standpoint, but a lot of damage will be done by this.

It's safe to say that Allen's presidential ambitions are 86ed.  What he did is absolutely not presidential material--we are a multi-cultural nation that does business globally.  I think that there are a number of business that would be reluctant to do business with an out of the closet racist--apology not withstanding.