The Hare is like the professional, experienced politician, so confident and secure in his privileged status that he doesnGÇÖt have to work hard GÇô and he disparages those who do. The Tortoise, by contrast, wasnGÇÖt made to race, but he does it his way, methodically, sincerely and with a high degree of character.
The campaigns the two candidates have waged reflect these fundamental traits. George Allen pulled together a cocky bunch of Republican thugs, famous for vicious character attacks with Swift boats and references to Hitler. They rained vitriol down on anyone who opposed them or stood in their way.
The Macaca video has appropriately become the defining image of the Allen campaign. While the media has sometimes treated this incident as weird and inexplicable, in fact, it is a direct reflection of the character of George Allen and those who surround him.
What we see in that video is the face of the bully confronting his victim, saying, in effect: I can do or say whatever I want about you, because I am one of the powerful and you are nothing. It was one of those rare moments when the curtain was pulled back and you got to see the real face of the people who run this country GÇô a pampered, arrogant elite with nothing but contempt for the common man. It was the Hare laughing at the very idea that the Tortoise would ever challenge him.
Meanwhile, the Webb campaign (from my own observations) has had a kind of homespun quality to it from the start, coming up from the grassroots and consisting of some of the nicest and most down-to-earth people IGÇÖve ever met in a political context. And that is equally true of the man whose name is on the signs. IGÇÖve marched right next to him in parades and been amazed how different he is from the typical, egotistical politician. Whatever you may say about Jim Webb, he clearly is not full of himself.
So the Hare who expected to be focused on winning the 2008 presidential contest by now is fighting to save his cotton-tailed ass. And the Tortoise who almost every pundit had discredited for not being enough of a politician is suddenly leading the race to the finish line.
This fight is far from over. But whatever happens on November 7th, the price of arrogance has been demonstrated for all to see: the Hare has been put in his place.
And hopefully next week, weGÇÖll get to see once again that "slow and steady wins the race."