Authentic football, cowboy hat and Southern strategy

In a recent essay and news story, Republican insiders whinged about the loss of their Second Coming of Reagan, George Allen. They say he would have been president had he not been taken down by some upstart brown kid who enticed him — nay, entrapped him — into uttering the macaca slur. Never mind that Allen had a long history of acting out in racist ways — he pleases the base in a way that McCain does not. They even trotted Allen out, all slurs forgiven, to endorse John McCain last week. And he would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you kids.

The most important word uttered in the Republican presidential primary has not been “terrorism” or “taxes,” not “faith” or “family.” Rather, it was “macaca.”

Two years ago, conventional Beltway wisdom had Sen. George Allen of Virginia easily winning reelection and becoming the presumptive front-runner for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. He had been embraced by the Republican business and fundraising establishment, as well as by the social and religious conservative voters who represent the strength of the party’s grass roots. [Link]

Like Reagan, Dubya and Fred Thompson, Allen’s ability to look good in chaps, track down rental horses and have a football surgically attached to his throwing hand apparently qualified him to be the Great Conservative Hope:

With his signature cowboy boys and “aw shucks” personality, Allen could have been defined as the candidate most like Bush, some Republican strategists say… Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va) said: “One of the problems with each of the Republican presidential candidates this year is each of them doesn’t connect with all segments of the party. Allen would have been able to do that…” Former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger, who supports McCain, said Allen would have struggled to reach out to independents… “The fact is, George Allen comes across as a regular guy, and he had an amazing ability to connect with the people”… [Link via SM]

It’s not that Allen’s fans don’t know of the nasties skittering from his closet like cockroaches from the sleeves of the villain in Men in Black. It’s that the good ol’ boy wink-and-nudge routine on racism is exactly what part of the Southern base is looking for.