|
|
|
| Wed, Dec. 02 - - Mobile - RSS | |
|
|
A high-stakes debate
Allen, Webb will face off tomorrow night, and each has something to prove.Date published: 10/8/2006 By CHELYEN DAVIS RICHMOND--For both Republican George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb, tomorrow's debate here is a chance to tell voters who they are--and they both need it. Analysts say Allen--who has been dogged by accusations of racial insensitivity for weeks--needs to reinvent himself, while Webb still needs to introduce himself to voters. The two will spar in their last scheduled debate before November's election. The 8 p.m. debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters, will be televised statewide, although PBS stations seem to be the only ones carrying it live; many network affiliates are running it later. It is the second televised debate between Allen and Webb. They met last month on NBC's "Meet the Press," and have also debated at private events before the Virginia Bar Association and the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. Allen's troubles began in August when he called an Indian-American Webb volunteer "macaca," a name Allen says he made up but others say is a racial slur in some parts of the world. Then, during the last debate in Fairfax, he became angry when responding to a panelist's question about his Jewish heritage--a heritage Allen admitted the next day. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, several former college classmates accused Allen of using a racial slur against black people when he was at the University of Virginia in the 1970s. So Allen has spent the past week trying to engineer a focus on the issues instead of character. This debate is a chance for him to continue that, and analysts say he will likely be on-message, repeating a litany of things done while he was governor and U.S. senator and hoping to avoid any new missteps. "An awful lot is at stake for Allen. This has been the roughest patch in his political career," said Virginia Commonwealth University political analyst Robert Holsworth. "He's going to want to use this debate to convince people there are more important things they should be voting on than the allegations and revelations made about his past. George Allen really wants to utilize the debate to take another step in putting all of the turmoil from the last month behind him." Holsworth said Allen will try to remind voters that he has worked for them and that he cares more about their future than "his one-time fascination with the Confederacy."
Date published: 10/8/2006
|
 |
|||
|
|||
