As Senator Falters, a Democrat Rises in Virginia
2006-09-18
Source: New York Times
email this
print this
del.icio.us
digg this
rss feedFrom the start, the Virginia Senate race was an emblematic campaign for 2006: combat boots vs. cowboy boots, in the inevitable shorthand.
A highly decorated Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy who opposed the war in Iraq (James Webb, Democrat) in an uphill battle against a paragon of sunbelt conservatism with national ambitions (Senator George Allen, Republican.)
But in the past month, ever since Mr. Allen's demeaning reference to a young man of Indian descent at a campaign event, this race has become more than an intriguing clash of symbols; according to the polls, it is now truly competitive.
Increasingly, Democratic strategists see Virginia as a prime target for one of the six seats they need to regain a majority. Perhaps most important for Mr. Webb, whose late-starting campaign has lagged far behind Mr. Allen's in fund-raising, the Democrat's contributions have begun to climb, advisers say. "He's got George Allen on the run in the Commonwealth of Virginia," said Bob Kerrey, former Democratic senator from Nebraska, who was rallying donors at a reception for Mr. Webb last week in New York.
In one of the sharpest exchanges of the campaign, Mr. Webb and Mr. Allen squared off on the war in Iraq on "Meet the Press" on NBC on Sunday, with Mr. Allen defending the Bush administration's policy and denouncing the “second-guessing and Monday-morning quarterbacking” of the critics. "We're going to need to do what it takes to succeed," Mr. Allen said, when asked if he would support additional troops in Iraq, "because it's essential to the security of the United States of America."
Click here to see the full article.
