Last weekend on “The Score” radio show, my colleague Scott Lee interviewed former senator (and current GOP Senate candidate) George Allen. I was somewhat agnostic on how Allen would perform. However, there were flashes during that 15 minutes of air time of the old George Allen – the one who won a huge, come from behind victory for Governor back in 1993 and the man who swept Democratic incumbent Sen. Chuck Robb from office in 2000. It was almost enough for me to think “yeah…this guy can win it all.”
And for me, who has been rather hard on Allen since his electoral debacle in 2006, that’s quite a change.
During the interview, Scoot asked Allen about what the U.S. should do about the Libyan crisis. The 2006-vintage Allen may have rattled the neo-con sabre and talked of sending in the Marines. But Allen 2.0 is more circumspect. While he said he was reluctant to criticize the president on matters of foreign policy, he still called the Obama administration’s policy “mystifying” and full of “mixed signals.
Allen stressed that the U.S. should “be on the side of people thirsting for freedom.” However, slaking that thirst doesn’t mean sending in U.S. troops. On that matter, Allen said we should be looking at humanitarian means of aiding the Libyan rebels, but should not be considering sending American armed forces into the country. Doing that, he argued, might lead Col. Gaddafi to step-up his reprisals against those opposing him. If anything, Allen suggested it was the responsibility of European nations, who are on Libya’s doorstep, to take the initiative.
During the course of these remarks, a bit came out that should bring a twinkle to the eyes of those who recall the brutal 2006 senatorial contest between Allen and Jim Webb. Allen noted that internet tools like Facebook and Twitter have made it easier not only for the rebels to communicate with one another, but for us to reach them with our ideas on liberty. Quite true. But recall, too, that it was the internet that helped whip-up the feeding frenzy that derailed Allen’s 2006 campaign. I strongly suspect he won’t allow a repeat of that experience in 2012 – even though his web guru from 2006, Jon Henke, now does work for one of his primary opponents, Jamie Radtke.
Over all, though, this was the Allen so many Virginia Republicans fondly remember, with sharp words for “sanctimonious elites” and a rapid-fire grasp of policy issues, particularly as they relate to Virginia.
There’s no question that while Allen 2.0 is a bit older, he may also be a bit wiser. If so, then he will be not only the prohibitive favorite to capture the GOP nomination, but will give the Democratic nominee (likely former Gov. Tim Kaine) the fight of his life.
