Ugly Words
2006-09-29
Source: Washington Post
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rss feedSen. George Allen use racial slurs years ago? Did his Democratic challenger, James Webb? Does it matter, in a race between two candidates with long public records and substantial differences on Iraq, health care, the economy and other critical issues?
Yes, it does matter. Mr. Allen said he does not recall having used what newspapers delicately call "the N-word." But at least a half-dozen people, including ones with upstanding reputations and no evident political agendas, have now told journalists that he did. The stories they have recounted about Mr. Allen's behavior raise disturbing questions about his character and credibility.
In the wake of the furor over the senator's reported comments, Mr. Webb would not deny that he had employed the ugly term. He said he has never used it as a slur but added to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "I don't think that there's anyone who grew up around the South that hasn't had the word pass through their lips at one time in their life."
It is unfortunate that Mr. Allen, a man who has held elected office practically his entire adult life, is only now, in his fifties, subjected to damning revelations about events that are three decades old. We wish the questions about his racial attitudes had been raised and raked through earlier in his career. But Mr. Allen helped open the door to this inquiry this summer when he singled out the lone person of color at a rural campaign rally, mocked him with the word "macaca" and then offered no plausible explanation for his use of what others see as a racial slur. He's also vulnerable because, as had been reported, he used to display Confederate flags at home and a hangman's noose in his office.
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