Allen was not a "Southern boy". He was born in California and grew up in California and Chicago. He never lived in the South until he went to transferred from UCLA to the University of Virginia as a sophomore.

Laughable.

Or it would be it it weren't so truly pathetic.

George Allen was voted to the US Senate in 2000. Before that, he was Governor of Virginia. That means that the people of VA sent a bigot to the State House of VA, and a bigot to the US Senate. Robert Byrd was a racist and clearly has reformed himself. George Allen was a racist, is a racist, and continues to be a racist, an anti-Semite, and a full-time meathead with identity issues. This is the difference.

Anyone remember Trent Lott and how he wistfully longed for the days of segregation and Jim Crow? Remember how he said that if his good friend Strom Thurmond had been elected President in 1948, we wouldn't have had "all these problems over all these years"? Remember how he got tarred and feathered and even President Bush backed away from him? Remember how he even went on BET to apologize? Anybody hear from him since?

Keep digging, George. Trent Lott's fate awaits you.

Any conscientious person (but especially racial minorities) should be concerned about these recent revelations with regards to Sen. George Allen (including the 'macaca' and absurd vehement reaction to his Jewish roots). They are our warning signs, let us pay heed.

Deep-seated prejudices are hard to extricate. That is why after so many years in politics, Sen. Allen still "slips" up with such language as 'macaca' and the inability to accept his own Jewish identity.

Ahh, how corrupt this human heart is!

Ah, how mysterious the origins of humankind!

Oh, that God would hasten the day when the Sons and Daughthers of God would lay bare the true mystery of humanity, indeed the mystery of the whole creation!

Sen. Allen, I understand, professes Evangelical Christian credentials. If so, here's my advice to him:

"The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life". (2 Cor. 3:6b)

Let's see, a Southern boy of a certain age that substantially predates the civil-rights movement claims never to have used that word? I'm going to jump way out on a limb, here, and bet that he's lying.

For one thing, it would have been impossible for a Southern kid to have picked among things, since a very familiar rhyme was almost essential in making such choices, and it went

Eeny, meeny, mighny, moe, catch a n*gger by his toe ...

So Allen never used that little rhyme? And Allen never, ever called Brazil nuts "n*gger-toes"? And he never, ever called a duct-taped muffler "n*gger-rigged"?

I apologize to those who may be offended by these references, but they were as much a part of Southern vernacular as "Ya'll," when I was a kid. It didn't mean that we all grew up to be racist, but it is just ridiculous to claim never to have used it.

Everyone knows this, and everyone must now decide whether Allen's bald-faced lie shows a serious lack of character.

First there were the multiple conflicting stories that Allen gave on the intended meaning in his use of "macaca."

Second, George Allen denied that his mother is of Jewish heritage, then admitted that he knew of her Jewish descent before the denial.

Now George Allen first denies ever using the "n" word, then he states he doesn't remember ever using the "n" word.

So Allen posed for pics with the Klan-ish CCC, flew the Confederate flag, had a noose in his office, but never said the "n" word?

Is it possible that when Allen said the "n" word, he didn't inhale?

This is all very entertaining, but I just don't see how the relentless focus on Allen's "racial insensitivity" is doing anything to improve American politics. It's great for TV ratings, I'm sure, but while I wouldn't go so far as to call it a trap laid by the Republicans, I believe the issue is a dead-end for progressives.

There has already been a tremendous backlash against anything perceived to be motivated by "political correctness". I think the whole PC thing has sensitized people quite a bit -- just look at how hard Allen works to refute the charges -- but it has also helped to marginalize and trivialize the American Left in the eyes of many Americans. It gives people like Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh a convenient rallying cry.

A certain number of people -- maybe quite a few in rural Virginia -- may actually be attracted to Allen's apparent racism. That's no doubt why he reacted so badly to the question about his Jewish mother. Of course, those folks were probably already going to vote for Allen. Others won't vote for a perceived racist, but again, they probably weren't going to vote for Allen, anyway.

For those who don't really care about these charges, which is probably a large number, I worry about whether Allen will start to get sympathy votes with all this negative attention. Whether so or not, this campaign will certainly give more people more reason to believe that our political system is a 3-ring circus that doesn't warrant paying attention to.

The Associated Press published an article with George F. Allen stating that he never used the "N" word. And, AP has several people defending George F. Allen.

The strongest defender of George F. Allen in this article is Doug Jones, who is identified as Shelton's roommate and a defensive back on the UVA team 1972-73. Jones emphatically states that George F. Allen never used the N-word. Wow, that is a powerful statement from someone who knew both Shelton and Allen ... powerful until we add some other information.

Why did the AP story not identify him as a member of the Fairfax Country Republican Committee?

Or, as the "Unit Operations Co-Chair for the Allen campaign in Fairfax County"?

Or, as the Mt. Vernon District GOP Chairman since 2000?

George F. Allen's defender is a Republican Party operative. Would that have mattered for his credibility? Shouldn't he have been identified so the readers could judge for themselves?

RE Doug Jones, see the Republican Party of Virginia spotlight biography of him at: http://www.rpv.org/contents/spotlight/doug_jones.shtml