Reply #2: more fun: Sen. Allen's Diet of Pork Chops, Ham Sandwiches and Crow [View All]

[Coexist]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092300958.html

Sen. Allen's Diet of Pork Chops, Ham Sandwiches and Crow
<snip>
"Somehow, we've careened from a volley of apologies -- I'm sorry I called that nice man "macaca"; no, I'm sorry I said women were pathetic weaklings; no, I wish I'd known earlier in life that hanging a noose in my law office was a bad thing -- to wild accusations of anti-Semitism in a race in which both candidates are Christians and in a state with a tiny Jewish population."

<snip>
But this is not a simple matter of the senator learning the truth and admitting it. He was clearly sensitive about this subject long before Channel 9 reporter Peggy Fox asked him about it at Monday's Fairfax Chamber of Commerce debate. Three years ago, Bob Gibson, political columnist at the Charlottesville Daily Progress, asked the same question. "It's funny," Gibson told the New Republic last month, "but the only time that George Allen ever wanted a correction from me in 27 years of covering his races was when I wrote about his mother's Jewish family origins. He insisted, through a press secretary, that his mother was raised a Christian."

<snip>
Somehow, Madeline Albright, John Kerry and Wesley Clark -- who learned details of their Jewish roots in middle age -- got through this chapter without accusing their opponents of anti-Semitism, ripping reporters who inquired about their family histories or cracking ham sandwich jokes.

Allen is a tremendously likable guy. He stands up for his beliefs, even when they are unpopular. But he's in trouble in a race he expected to be a walk in the park. And he's killing himself out there. Georgie, baby, take a shvitz, maybe a vacation. Have you thought about Jerusalem? Bring the video camera. We can make this work.