One of the things that annoys me is the "pseudo-apology" so often given by politicans caught in an embarrassing position. Sure enough, not only is Allen clearly caught being, at the very least, insensitive and more accurately offensive, he's apologizing without REALLY apologizing. "I'm sorry if he's offended by that" is NOT an apology. Wonkette pegged the pseudo-apology when describing it as similar to hearing one's college boyfriend say "I'm sorry if you're mad that I fucked that other girl".

At one point, George Allen in a fund-raising speech made reference to the annoying Democrats in the General Assembly by saying he wanted to "kick their soft teeth down their whiny throats". I don't think he was sorry for that, either, but some of the other Republicans were.

Why don't we write him an email and let him know what we really think of him and his offensive remarks?

http://allen.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutGeorgeAllen.SendAnEmail&EmailContactForm=&x=8&y=10

This, after all, is what democracy is about, right?

Andre.

Like Mel Gibson, Allen spent enough time in the public eye to show his true self.

The thing I can't figure--that doesn't fit the macho, Confederate flag-waving profile--is that he was raised with five different languages. One would think such culture would have given him a broader perspective.

To the Virginian who was offended by the author's line "The people here love him": Let's see if Allen gets re-elected. If he does, you don't have a leg to stand on in defending your fellow red-staters. After the 2004 election, I can no longer defend America to my European friends. Fool me once, etc... Most people are idiots.

A lot of self-righteous condescending attitude towards southerners here. I'm an American of Indian background born and raised in Texas, now living in California, and I can tell you that there's just as much racism here as there is in the "hick" red states. Only there they're more upfront about it, whereas in CA they hide their contempt behind fake smiles and disingenuous p.c. posturing.

Wake up! ALL of America is still plagued with racism. Don't scapegoat the southerners out of guilt for your own shortcomings.

A fine piece until the Gunsmoke ending with Americans holding alight their golden shit detectors. That's just plain bonkers Mike.

Since it's obviously not "now", how much "later" are you delusionally praying we gumshoe US of fuckin' A dicks realize who Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice, Hadley, Wolfowitz, Perle, Limbaugh, Snow, Mehlman, Abramoff, the GOP and politicians in general today really are?

Your conclusion reminds me of Limbaugh screwing- tonedeaf and hopelessly flaccid.

The opposition to George Allen should immediately start referring to him as "Frenchie". As bigoted and racist as the term might be (esp. in "freedom fries" states), "Frenchie" Allen deserves some of his own medicine. It's the only way to take down a bully and an effective way to show his faux good ol' boy schtick and get under his skin.

Indeed: "Frenchie Allen pour le sénat!"

The race card is almost always too strong to play-- people reflexively pull back from it-- but "Welcome to America"? This guy is a potential presidential candidate? God help us!

"It's not progressive to paint with a wide, red-state brush the people of any region, nor is it acceptable to make such condescending, tired comments about "the people" and "their language." Southerners-- and our rural counterparts across the nation-- are just as thoughtful and complex as big-city blue-staters, and representing us as backwater, easily snowed, boot-loving rubes is as offensive as any other cultural stereotype."

Certainly not all Southerners meet that description, but apparently there are enough who do that guys like George Allen, Roy Moore, Jim DeMint etc. keep getting elected.

Not everyone in southern Virginia loves George Allen, as Michael Scherer reported. Support for Allen's opponent, Jim Webb, is growing daily here in the greater Norfolk area. Imagine a smart, literate, openminded veteran replacing our faux-Confederate cowardly racist. The thought of it is enough to keep me from moving to Canada just yet.

>But as an aficionado of racial humor,<

Apparently you aren't an aficionado of history, else you'd know that Allen was "kidding on the square." Why do you think Allen pointed out the only dark-skinned guy in the crowd in the first place?

>whether it's Carlos Mencia, Dave Chapelle, Howard Stern, Richard Pryor, Ali G, or a dozen others, I can say with 100% honesty that I have never heard the term "Macaca" as a "common racial slur around the world."<

Well, now, you've learned something, haven't you?

>In fact, I've never heard the word Macaca before the other day. Now, please, someone insult me as a sheltered, narrow-minded American who thinks that if he doesn't know about something it isn't important.<

Nah, I'll insult you as being a fake-disingenous "oh, Allen wasn't talking about race and if I've never heard of this word, it isn't a racial slur" narrow-minded "American."

I don't think this will gain real mileage - racism is as common as cake around here, and most people just don't care: Clinton was caught on tape slurring Italians - and nothing happened, Jessie Jackson used "Hymietown," Robert Byrd was a one-time klan member who just a few years ago uttered, "I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time; I'm going to use that word...", Billy McKinney (father of Cynthia and a Georgia state representitive), slurred Jews and was still hired to run his daughter's campaign (which he later resigned) which she won, Antonio R. Villaraigosa, mayor of LA, had to wiggle around about his membership in MECha ("Por La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada...") but he won the race. And now we have George Allen using a bastardization of a so-called slur which no one has ever heard and which he denies making - even though it's on tape, and Michael Scherer believes that this might cost him an election that's two years away? In political time, that's like an eternity, and Allen will keep denying and soon we'll all forget anyway - at least the people who don't care in the first place! This is what Allen said in the WaPo:

Asked what macaca means, Allen said: "I don't know what it means." He said the word sounds similar to "mohawk," a term that his campaign staff had nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut. Sidarth said his hairstyle is a mullet -- tight on top, long in the back.

Allen said that by the comment welcoming him to America, he meant: "Just to the real world. Get outside the Beltway and get to the real world."