The American Spectator

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My friends, we’re going to run this campaign on positive, constructive ideas. And it’s important that we motivate and inspire people for something. This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt; Macaca or whatever his name is, he’s with my opponent, he’s following us around everywhere and it’s just great.

We’re going to places all over Virginia and he’s having it on film. And it’s great to have you here. And you show it to your opponent because he’s never been there and probably will never come. So it’s good for you to see what it’s like in the real world, rather than living inside the beltway. His opponent actually right now is with a bunch of Hollywood movie moguls. We care about fact not fiction. So welcome, let’s give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.

br> So Mr. Allen fudged the man’s name in a juvenile way. Hardly the sinister affront portrayed by the out-of-context excerpts published in the press. The sad thing is that Allen felt he had to make the compulsory apology to the allegedly aggrieved constituency. As are most apologies made by those who’ve done nothing really wrong, Allen’s mea culpa was almost as silly as the original accusation itself, and the press ate it up.

But you have to give the media credit. They see that Allen may, in all probability, be the GOP choice in 2008, and the fear and loathing they have for him is actually a form of respect. The fact that he’s the only real conservative who has a chance at winning the nod is cause enough for trepidation, but it goes beyond that; you know, the cowboy image and all.

Two other recent Republican presidential candidates were also unashamedly un-nuanced, cowboy-types who shared Allen’s easygoing style, and they managed to win four terms between them. This is what drives liberals to distraction: despite the occasional social slip-up, the great unwashed seem to prefer this type of man to hold the nation’s reins. Welcome to America.

Lisa Fabriziois a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may write her at mailbox@lisafab.com.