Conservative media bashes Allen campaign's lack of class

Ultra-right winger Michelle Malkin:

"It's so dirty," Michelle Malkin, a conservative columnist, said on Fox News. "It looks desperate. It looks pathetic, and it looks so immature. ... This is fiction."

National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez:

"...as lame and unbecoming of the senator as the Allen attack on fiction is..."

George Allen is an opportunistic philistine.

What other conclusion to draw from the senator's outrageous cherry-picking of "underage sex scenes" in his opponent James Webb's novels?

Just imagine the "war room" scenario: of campaign underlings combing Webb's books for naughty bits; of the "gotcha" smiles that lit up said underlings' faces as they informed their boss they had yet more ammo with which to outflank Webb from the left....

This latest salvo would be silly, if it weren't so demeaning -- not to women, as Allen would very much like us to believe of Webb's fiction writing, but rather to the basic idea of narrative art.

This is an even cruder variation of the literal-minded smear that attached to Vladimir Nabokov after he published his brilliant "Lolita." Some readers refused to accept that someone who wrote in a fictional context about pedophilia did not approve of pedophilia -- or, worse, was a pedophile himself.

If, today, anyone is scandalized by what Webb wrote, that's their right -- and their folly.

Earlier this week I floated the scenario that if he wins Nov. 7, Allen might come out of the race an even stronger, steelier contender for the 2008 presidential nomination. This may or may not eventually prove true.

What I know for sure is that is I can't now vote for Allen in good conscience.

Conservative Virginia blogger Jim Hoeft:

Allen Release Disturbing

...[C]haracter certainly matters, but using fiction as the basis for that character attack is not exactly what I would call "solid ground." In fact, it might cause people to question yours....

Works of fiction need to be provided a little license. Agatha Christie did not condone murder, despite acts of murder in her novels. If we cherry-picked scenes from her novels and put them into a press release, things could get just as ugly. While the act that disturbs most of us is considered pedophillia in our culture, it is a standard practice in Cambodia. Hence, the observation provided context and cultural insight in the novel. Personally, I would have not written it, but it doesn't make Webb any less qualified to be a U.S. Senator because he did.

Why we turned down Webb 'scoop'

When Matt Drudge published the press release from Virginia Sen. George Allen's campaign about lurid and sexually explicit excerpts from Jim Webb's novels, some WND readers asked why we didn't jump all over the story.

I'll tell you why.

For weeks, operatives within the Allen campaign were shopping this "story."

We were offered all the excerpts if we wanted it as an exclusive. I turned it down flat.

Why?

Because it's a non-story.

I don't approve of Webb's fiction, but, let's remember, it is fiction.

You might recall Vice President Dick Cheney's wife, Lynn, was hit with similar slime regarding a novel she wrote, called "Sisters," that apparently included some graphic sexual passages including lesbianism.

You will not find any WND coverage of that non-story, either.

... As a resident of Virginia myself, I may hold my nose and vote for Allen, but he is not giving me any reasons to do so in this inept campaign.

Is this the best he's got?

He's been a governor. He's been a senator. Why is he incapable of running on a record of personal achievement? Why is he running a smear campaign against a challenger? It's enough to turn your stomach....

I suspect this little "October Surprise" by Allen's camp will come back to haunt them. It's so impotent! Challenge Webb on the issues! Take the high road! If you lose, lose with honor and integrity!

Is it me? Or doesn't our nation have enough serious issues to talk about? Should we talk about them in a campaign season or should we dwell on literary criticism of Jim Webb's old novels?

Welcome to American politics, 2006-style.

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