Democratic Senate candidate James Webb (left) hugs his wife, Hong, as Sen. George Allen, R-Va., stands with his wife, Susan. BOB BROWN/ASSOCIATED PRESS Visit the Photo Place

Allen, Webb meet in final debate

Allen, Webb meet one more time in Senate campaign

By CHELYEN DAVIS

Date published: 10/10/2006

RICHMOND--In a debate that was at times contentious and even out of control, Sen. George Allen and challenger Jim Webb faced off on television last night.

It was the last scheduled debate before the Nov. 7 election, and it afforded the candidates a chance to question each other--an opportunity that led to the most testy exchanges of any debate they've had.

Allen went into the debate needing to turn the campaign's focus off his verbal missteps--such as calling an Indian Webb staffer "macaca" in August--while Webb went in still needing to introduce himself to voters.

It was clear from the opening statements that they intended to use the debate in those ways, with Allen vowing in his first sentence to "discuss issues that matter" and then reeling off a list of his accomplishments as governor.

Webb used his opening to talk about divisions of class within society and how America "needs leaders who understand these divisions" and can work to overcome them.

Allen made a point of tying Webb to liberal Democrats like Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.--who has endorsed Webb--and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, accusing Webb of wanting to raise taxes that those senators have endorsed.

That was part of Allen's first direct question to Webb, although he spent so long asking it and quoting Webb to himself that time was called before he actually got to the question, which was whether Webb knew how many Virginians had benefited from tax breaks that Webb wants to end.

Webb said what he opposes is the migration of wealth to the few, and the idea that America can have huge tax credits and still spend money on expensive things like the war in Iraq. He said he wants to close corporate loopholes that allow many very profitable companies to get away with paying very little in taxes.

In response to Allen's question about how many Virginians benefit from tax breaks enacted after Sept. 11, Webb countered by asking Allen if he knew how many Virginians would suffer from the rollback of a tuition tax credit Allen voted against.

The exchange left the two testily talking over each other, with moderator Russ Mitchell trying to bring order.

"You're misrepresenting to the voters of Virginia how I would vote on a wide array of taxes," Webb fumed during a later question.

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Date published: 10/10/2006