I am on the road and back in another airport, so I didn't get to see the debate between Senator Allen and Secretary Webb. Dean's post below doesn't really surprise me. James Webb is one of the most charismatic and accomplished Americans I have ever met. But what George Allen's in-house blogger communicates is the essence of the reason why Allen will win this race in the end: Virginia is a decidedly conservative state which George Bush carried by a margin of 260,000 votes, 54% to 46%. The national security choice presented by Bush v. Kerry is essentially the same choice as presented by Allen v. Webb, and it is reinforced by secondary issues such as judicial selection and tax rates. Secretary Webb may peel another point or two away from the Bush 2004 vote total, but he cannot carry the Democratic Party of Pelosi and Reid on his back across the victory line.
A vote for James Webb is a vote for Patrick Leahy as chair of the Judiciary Committee and a blockade of the next John Roberts or Samuel Alito. It is a vote for Joe Biden to be chair of Foreign Relations and for Hillary to be president. I don't see a majority of Virginia voters making that choice.