He's stupid enough to be our president.

It's like this: Americans fear and distrust anyone with more education and knowledge than they have. When it comes to leaders, the dumber, the better.

You've seen it in congressional and state level races around the country. In these political contests, it's a race to the bottom to see who can out-dumb the other guy.

Even an elite prep school boy from Connecticut has to know how to develop some kind of weird Southern accent that's really from no Southern state and know how to wear a straw cowboy hat and live on a fake ranch in Texas even though he doesn't own a single head of cattle.

The American people eat it up like ice cream. They know he's a phony. Just as they know George Allen is a grinning nincompoop. But still, they will find a way to forgive him for any gaff. They are eager to find a reason to believe in guys like this, over say, a guy who reads too many books and toys with strange ideas like seeing both sides of an issue.

That's dangerous! They want a guy who appears to be just like them: Secretly prejudiced but clever enough to hide it most of the time, a guy who doesn't mince words or do diplomacy, he'd rather just knock the hell out of somebody and have his way.

Americans deserve George Allen. After all, we got Bush and still after all these many years of failure, corruption and mediocrity, Bush's successor must be of the same mold: A big rough tough bully with lots of swagger who will punch our enemies in the mouth, not coddle them.

It might not be George Allen that the Republicans put up for '08, but you can bet it's going to be someone who can dumb down to the level of stupidity of the average American dumbass.

If the Democrats can't find a strongman, this country is in for another eight years of fear, corruption and lies.

If the Democrats run Hilliary, and it looks like they will, she's going to make George McGovern's loss to Nixon look like a photo finish.

My God, if anybody ought to know about Amen Choruses it's got to be Tony Snow. Afer all, he was one of the trained seals over at FOX 'news' who clapped and barked every time Bush farted.

The Macaca thing is rightfully getting all the play.

But when you think about it, wasn't the greater of the slurs was when Allen said "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."

This presumption on Allen's part really has no defense. He can squirm around with lame explanations of mo caca and mohawk and mo-whatever, but he can not escape this other bigoted remark at all.

It's right there on tape. He automatically assumed, as any racist would, that Sidarth was not born in this country and specifically, not in WHITE Virginia.

But there is more. He singled this person out with a pointed finger in such a way that surely must have reminded Sidarth that he was at the mercy of this fired-up crowd of white people. If you are a person of color, and even if you are not, think for a moment about how you would feel, looking out into that hostile crowd with all their eyes glaring at you.

Would Allen stop there, or would he continue with his lapse of judgement and maybe tell the crowd they ought to do something about this Macaca in their midst.

Allen gives me the creeps. But among his followers are a few of exactly the kind of night riders that a brown skinned person has legitimate reasons to fear.

By the way, it's coming out now that George Allen was not even born in Virginia, as Sidarth was. The "Welcome to American and real world of Virginia" remark is indefensable on any level and can not be blamed on any kind of "media misinterpretation" as Allen has suggested.

"It's because Jim Webb is not really all that different. You have a choice between a racist and a homophobic mysogynist, basically."

And basically, Captainlarab, you're one of those snivelling idealogues on the outer fringe of reality who will always piss on any candidate who hasn't passed your politically correct smell test.

A homophobic mysogynist? Really?

With those credentials, you'd think Webb would beating Allen at his own game. But you failed to let us in on why you think Webb is a homophobic mysogynist. Was it his time as Secretary of the Navy maybe?

So you actually claim to know "several" Democratic voters [sic].

Hey, me too. I know a few.

We're Vietnam Veterans. We happen to think Jim Webb will win without much of a fight over George "Macaca" Allen. Want to know why? Because he's a war vet who has been there. He led a Marine rifle platoon and became company commander in I-Corp where he was awarded two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars, a Silver Star, and the Navy Cross.

Now I know that probably don't mean much to you, captain, but it does to me and others. We are at war right now whether we like it or not. I'd prefer to have a leader who won't spend our blood and treasure recklessly like our current Texas Air National Guard dropout.

Webb's list of accomplishments during his outstanding career in service to our country include fighting for Veterans' rights and against Republican attempts to cut spending on VA hospitals.

He knows the cost of war first hand. He's a military man and a Democrat. But that is what probably really kills it for you. He's tainted. So you better go find some nobody from the far left fringe who couldn't get elected dog catcher (Ralph Nader) and go support HIM, instead of Webb.

And if I can borrow your phrase: It's that kind of thinking that got George W. Bush the presidency, twice.