Gee, I wonder how many of you here would come off as perfect, saintly people with no flaws if somebody printed up an entire transcript of every single thing you ever said in college.

This is such a non-story, it's pathetic.

I have a question for those who are coming to Allen's defense:

Can you tell me something good about the man?

All this back in forth has been about the relevance of the negative stories and accusations, but for me to "forget" about all that, I would need to hear something, anything that would lead me to believe the negative accounts are false, unfair, or irrelevant. Even from Allen, all we are getting is lame, sometimes changing denials and alibis.

It's obvious that the folks who are coming to Allen's defense aren't very bothered by his racists beliefs and behavior throughout his life. I just wonder what they like about him?

It would seem that they are too dumb or too lazy to check each other's talking points, but it would seem there is a consensus the troll response to this story is to assume everyone else in the universe were idiot frat boys who who said racist crap, and otherwise made idiots of themselves in their college years. God forbid they actually did anything college to be proud of...

Would this country be a better place if white frat boys had to answer for their crap thirty years later, and this disqualifies them from office....

I fail to see a downside.

If you were an idiot in college, chances are you are still an idiot, as anyone who has visited a sports bar during happy hour in any major city America can attest.

If anyone is interested in a look at how Allen's performed thus far, check out the following links:

http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=CNIP9093

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/a000121/key-votes/

Given that I've lived in VA since the late 1980s, I wouldn't touch Allen with a ten-foot stick.

Webb has nothing to do with these revelations. They are the product of a reporter making cold calls to the UV football team.

Yeah, right. And I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Allen's racism would never have come up if he hadn't used a racist epithet recently. Allen's defense was that he was just babbling. It makes sense to examine Allen's previous actions and words to see if his past supports his defense.

It actively doesn't. Instead, we have a man with a long history of making ugly, racist remarks.

And for those of you who think his racism was acceptable 30 years ago--are you out of your mind? He was in LA in the '70s for chrissakes. No, we really didn't talk like that in California in the 70s--Allen's virulent racism was not a matter of course. In this way, he differs from Robert Byrd who really did grow up in a milieu where racism was "normal". Allen's ugly racism in California in the '70s would have stuck out like a sore thumb and apparently did.

Does it still matter? Yes, because he's still using racial epithets while claiming not to. Also, the stuffing of a dead deer head into some poor family's mailbox because they had a skin color Allen didn't like goes well beyond using the wrong word. And, no, I never did anything like that in college. I don't know anyone who did.

I'm not saying Allen should be prosecuted for his ugly, ancient misdeed, but I see no reason why the guy should have the privilege of holding elected office. Surely, there are less disturbed people who can handle the Senate. ANd, yeah, I think we have the right to know about someone's earlier pathological behavior. His long-standing willingness to treat people with darker skin than he as less than human is someone I wouldn't trust to vote in a rational, humane manner.

This is a non-story.

In your troll warning you forgot to mention the folks who think this is a "non-story." Oh how they wish! I've been hearing Salon credited for this story several different times today, and I rarely hear Salon credited for it's original stories. The people trying to paint George Allen as some sort of victim in all this should save their breath (and keyboards).

Some racists do reform. And for sure, I wouldn't want to be judged today on all the stupid things I did when I was in college. But. . .

-- I never stuffed a dead deer's head in someone's mailbox.

-- Allen never seems to have quit doing stupid things and saying stupid things that betray some disturbing thoughts.

-- Allen has a disturbing life pattern of not only being a racist, but being a bully in the larger sense. I see no evidence of any reform in his character.

All in all, all things considered, this Allen is really creeping me out. I hope he is also creeping out the Virginia voters. How in the world did he get as far as he did?

I do believe people can change. Growing up as a black American in the Midwest and the South, I clearly recall the social restrictions of the day. I grew up during apartheid in this country--Jim Crow--when racism was a legislated, acceptable point of view.

But evidence shows that Allen hasn't changed his views at all. I wonder how many people of color are among his close friends?

He won't get elected for the presidency. He may not get reelected for anything else in

in his life, so the punishment has already come down on him.

I'm not a fan of George Bush, but I don't believe he is an active racist. He's a

patrician, a product of the privileged class. Despite Katrina, I don't see him

uttering these words towards blacks. But he's clearly uncomfortable among the population.

Note...he didn't go to New Orleans until all the blacks had been exported.

Contrast his demeanor among people of color with that of Bill Clinton.

If you don't have friends who are people of color, what does that say? I've always had friends

from all cultures my entire life. it makes a difference.