Writing on the Wall Street Journal op-ed page today, the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes makes the bizarre claim that George Allen remains a viable 2008 presidential contender:
The curdled conventional wisdom on the race is twofold: Mr. Allen is still favored to win re-election, but he should give up any thought of seeking the presidency in 2008. But Mr. Allen refuses to budge. He won't rule out a presidential race, and it remains very much in the cards.
Many conservatives are souring on Virginia's junior senator as a presidential candidate. Still: Should Mr. Allen overcome the media onslaught, effectively counter Mr. Webb's call for a withdrawal from Iraq, finish the campaign without breaking ranks with President Bush, and win a slugfest by a modest margin, he may emerge as a tough-minded survivor. The press won't like him any better, but he might earn the respect of Republican voters around the country. Candidates have been "misunderestimated" before, and stranger things have happened in politics.
What? George Allen's 2008 campaign is over before it began. Even if conservatives still liked him after the current fiasco, he's not a competitive national candidate. The combination of his ugly racial history and the "macaca" incident will turn off moderate voters and energize Democrats' African American base regardless of whether the latest allegations about his use of the N-word turn out to be true. GOP donors and activists will realize this and not support Allen's candidacy.
Currently, the Tradesports futures market puts the probability of Allen receiving the 2008 GOP presidential nomination at about five percent. If I'm wrong and Allen actually has a shot, then Barnes (and anyone else) should buy some shares now...
Come ON! Liberals are EXACTLY the same, they hope Allen is viable too.
How come you only mention Barnes?
Posted by: Lettuce | September 28, 2006 at 07:58 PM