Writing Off George Allen

By: VA for IKE
Published On: 9/21/2006 12:45:33 PM

As a political moderate and a self-proclaimed "Eisenhower Republican," I have, in a past diary, expressed why I will not be in support of George Allen in the upcoming mid-term elections. Though I am resolute in this particular conviction, until this past week, I have not had nearly as firm a grip on why Secretary Webb deserves my support.

Over the last week, I have been intently watching and carefully combing through the Webb-Allen debates in order to get a first-hand sense of what kind of Senator Secretary Webb would make for the state of Virginia. As this was my first opportunity to see Mr. Webb live and in person, I would have to agree with many of the pundits that he does come off as wonkish and overly-erudite at times. After coming to this perhaps cosmetic conclusion, I then began to ask myself: What exactly is wrong with that? WhatGÇÖs wrong with intellect? I think this issue lies at the heart of why the Bush-Rove-Allen GÇ£winning-as-an-end-allGÇ¥ political mentality is so repugnant to me and my Republican ideals (I donGÇÖt dare give those men the moniker of GÇÿRepublicanGÇÖ as I understand the word to mean). 
The issue came to me as I have continuously watched Mr. Wadhams and Mr. Allen scornfully call Secretary Webb a GÇÿfiction writer.GÇÖ Since when did writing books become something to be disparaged by conservatives? DidnGÇÖt Shakespeare, Orwell, and Camus write GÇÿfictionGÇÖ? When did intellect become negative political baggage? I have to say I saw this back in 2004 when some political pundits suggested that the release of some of John KerryGÇÖs poor college grades actually scored him political points. Is this madness to suggest that our leaders, the ones who garner such heavy influence on enormously critical decisions every dayGǪIs it madness to demand that they bring to bear a learned and diverse intellectual background to confront these difficult and convoluted challenges that face our country? 

To quote a different type of "fiction writer," Aaron Sorkin:

When the President's got an embassy surrounded in Haiti, or a keyhole photograph of a heavy water reactor, or any of the fifty life-and-death matters that walk across his desk every day, I don't know if he's thinking about Immanuel Kant or not. I doubt it, but if he does, I am comforted at least in my certainty that he is doing his best to reach for all of it and not just the McNuggets. Is it possible we would be willing to require any less of the person sitting in that chair? The low road? I don't think it is."

I donGÇÖt think it is either, and IGÇÖll take a "writer" any day over the hollow words of the Republican leadership that continues to take the low road.

Comments



Warm Welcome... (mosquitopest - 9/21/2006 4:22:30 PM)
My Dad liked Ike!!

I'm an independent and I warmly welcome you aboard the Webb train....I prefer the company of thoughtful folks.

Buzz...Buzz...
mosauito at mosquito-blog at blogspot.com



Thank you (Doug in Mount Vernon - 9/21/2006 6:15:24 PM)
For recognizing what your country so desperately needs---men of good character and ernest desire to lead this nation back onto its path of greatness and goodness.

As a former Republican turned Democrat, I can relate.  But the course of humanity is at stake, and partisan loyalties must be trumped for the good of humankind.



Allen is pathetic beyond belief (Jeff B - 9/21/2006 7:58:50 PM)
I just saw Allen on Wolfe Blitzer. I have never seen a grown man hide behind his mothers skirt and whine like a baby. He is pathetic and completely lost. Blitzer ask him about Macaca and how it is a North African slur. Allen slumped in his chair as he said his mother looked it up in a dictionary and could not that word. This whole cock and bull story is falling apart faster the Mohawk story did. Allen is in free fall this is a disaster of his own making.

Webb's RR ad ran during Blitzers show that is one powerful message. Allen give Webb free air time everytime he runs his Nancy Reagan ad.



Dumbo (libra - 9/21/2006 8:39:59 PM)
was a cute elephant and not half as dumb as he was reputed to be. The same cannot be said of Allen; although he is of the elephant breed, he's not cute at all and at least twice as dumb as expected, unless he's memorized his lines (obviously, the Jewish part of his heritage is grossly exaggerated )

I agree with VA/Ike that being intelligent shouldn't count *against* one, especially when one's running for office. Having grown up in another country -- where "intelligentsia" was considered to be the aristocracy -- I was quite dismayed to follow my son's progress through the American school system, where almost all of his contemporaries thought that good grades and high IQ were something shameful one should hide (or else something to gang up on). Eventually, as he -- and others grew up, the dynamics changed; the intellectuals came out of the closet, the school's "academic team" got on TV, which got them some respect from hteir peers and, in the long run, he had to deal with the world of adults.

Which, I think, might be a part of Allen's problem - he never grew up. He's still playing cowboys and Indians and he's still trying to pull the geek's gym shorts down in public...

What I don't agree with in VA/Ike's assessment of Webb is:

"he does come off as wonkish and overly-erudite at times"

Wonkish? *Overly*-erudite? Not to me. He's intelligent. He's knowledgeable. He's thoughtful. He's careful of his language (I'm a linguist, so that's a *definite plus*). He's very self-restrained, which, I suppose, can be read as "stiffness". But I suspect it's in part personality and in part the military training.

But I'd *much, much rather* have someone who doesn't explode easily than a skin-deep actor represent me in the Senate. And I'd *much, much rather* follow someone who challenges me and sends me to a dictionary or encyclopedia for further elucidation than someone with 40Watts to my 60. If I'm smarter than my Senator, what's the point of my voting for the dimwit?

And -- though that' a very personal take... My English (especially spoken) is not so perfect and I really get flustered when speaking in public. But I had what I thought was a pressing question (about healthcare) to ask him when he was here, so I did my best to stumble through it. And he never batted an eyelid, never pretended not to understand what I was asking about; just nodded and answered. Without any condescention, without any patronising, without any trace of "hey, macaca, welome to America" attitude. And without any allowances for my imperfect English, either -- he never dumbed down the answer to simple words and sentences.

To me, that was really a very "telling" thing about him. He may not be a very adept politician, but he's an all-around wonderful human being (IMPO).



It's like the Republican Party was hijacked (Hugo Estrada - 9/22/2006 1:44:28 PM)
Just ten years ago, there were a lot of people in the Republican Party like Senators McCain and Warner. It offered a different set of solutions to the problems that the U.S. have, but many of the basic ideals and values were the same as those of the Democratic Party: fairness, legal equality, and the search for economic prosperity.

Then, when the Bush team took over the White House, there was this dramatic change. It was probably the culmination of several decades of work, but suddenly pragmatists were pushed aside and extreme ideologues took a hold on the party.

To me, the greatest shock was how the Republicans in Congress gave up on their prior strong check on the executive. Then they gave up on the balanced budget, a bipartisan achievement partially responsible for the late 90s boom.

But my greatest shock was when they gave up on personal responsibility and didn't do anything against Bush when it was clear that he mislead the country into a war.

Hopefully the Republican Party will recover. In the mean time, welcome, VA for IKE.