Vote Allen: He's a Moron
That's the spin after Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) got caught calling an Indian college student—that's curry-and-basmati Indian, not warbonnet Indian—a "macaca" twice at an Allen campaign stop in rural, bumfuck Virginny.
Macaca seems to be a rather obscure epithet for anyone with dark skin, roughly similar to calling them a monkey. Allen was referring to S.D. Sidarth, a campaign volunteer for Allen's opponent, James Webb. Sidarth had been following the Allen campaign around videotaping it. Here's how the WaPo reports the Allen slip:
"This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is. He's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere. And it's just great," Allen said, as his supporters began to laugh. After saying that Webb was raising money in California with a "bunch of Hollywood movie moguls," Allen said, "Let's give a welcome to macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." Allen then began talking about the "war on terror."
Yep, sounds like classic Allen, the great white shark of the Senate. "And, you know, the thing about a shark… he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes," says Quint. "When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living…until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white."
Even NRO is comparing Allen's macaca moment to Howard Dean's "yeeaaghhh" freak-out as signature window on a relatively unknown politician's psyche. In Allen's case, his mean streak.
But it gets better, by which I mean worse. Virginia House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) defends Allen by claiming no one knows what he was talking about—including Allen.
"Not many people in southwest Virginia would think it is derogatory," Griffith said. "I didn't have a clue what it meant, and I doubt Allen did, either."
That's great. Vote for the guy who has no idea what he is talking about, but likes to point and make fun of people all the same.
Alas, the Webb campaign completes the circle of incompetence by trying to make Sidarth sound like a wounded victim and moving to universalize the incident to reach all "people of color." Wrong.
The correct pounce is drive home Allen's utter stupidity. Challenge Allen to read a book before Webb writes another one, something creative. Not the same old grievance shtick.
George Allen does not have the wattage to man a deep fryer support line in Bangalore, let alone serve responsibly in the U.S. Senate. An Allen run for president in 2008? Yeeaaghhh!