Simple. Create a diversion:
Suddenly, macaca, Jewish heritage and racial slurs are yesterday’s news. Look through Virginia’s newspapers, look even at the partisan blogs that relish hitting Sen. George Allen as hard as they can: The feeding frenzy has subsided. The waters seem almost calm again.
The Allen campaign must be, as the senator’s ancestors might have put it, kvelling (Yiddish for bursting with pride.) Without going through the ritual Oprah-style confessional purification, Allen and his strategists have managed to steer attention away from his awful few weeks and back onto far more comfortable turf for the one-term senator who still harbors hopes of becoming president.
We argued this on the right side of the blogosphere how Allen’s two-minute advertisement just before 8:00pm turned the election around as Webb was beset by his remarks on women in the military.
It worked, as announced.
Back to issues, the DSCC is trying desperately to change the subject back to racism, Bush, anything. But Allen has both the money and the persona (and the support of a Republican Virginia) to push home.
All the rounds are fired. Webb has to do it the old fashioned way, and I don’t think he has the grassroots or the momentum to make it happen in four weeks.