When he was governor and then senator from Virginia, George Allen grew notorious for employing one rhetorical device over and over: the sports analogy. It seemed like a rare speech from the former University of Virginia quarterback and son of Redskins coach George Herbert Allen that didn’t refer to “pushing the ball over the goal line” or some similar construction. He even threw a ceremonial final football during his concession speech after losing to Sen. Jim Webb in 2006.
Well, Regnery Publishing announced Tuesday that Allen has signed a contract for a book, due out in 2010. And why not write what you know, right, Senator? The book’s title says it all: “The Triumph of Character: What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports.”
“Having spent the better part of his life with one foot in both the world of sports and the world of politics, Allen will draw parallels and contrasts between the two arenas,” reads a statement from Regnery. “Using his own engaging and entertaining personal stories, Allen will illustrate how ‘characters with character’ in the meritocracy of sports can provide principled, competitive examples of the ways to surmount challenges facing America.”
If Allen’s waiting to get back into the political game, consider this a Hail Mary.
