by Ana Marie Cox
When George Allen loses his Senate race, will bloggers have the graciousness to let Allen take credit for it? While much has been made of the role that the web and YouTube have played in publicizing the "macaca" incident, one cannot discount the role played by the sheer stupidity of Allen and his campaign. This is not a victory for the net roots, it's a loss for idiocy.
Someday political scientists will study the Allen campaign as an example of how not to do damage control. First, do NOT "dismiss...the issue with an expletive and insist...the senator has 'nothing to apologize for.'" Second, do NOT try to "explain" the offensive remark (He said the word sounds similar to "mohawk," a term that his campaign staff had nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut.). Third, do NOT offer a SECOND, possibly more offensive, explanation after the first one proves inadequate. Fourth do NOT leak a campaign memo that blames the media for the offensive remark. Lastly, do NOT wait a week to actually apologize. Oh, and do NOT be an idiot.
Allen has been apologizing to "those who were offended" ever since he realized they were offended, of course, though apparently he had to watch the media coverage in order to realize that the person he called "macaca" was offended:
“He took the blame for saying them, and he said he didn’t realize how offended I was until he heard my comments from the media.”
All of which makes one wonder about this "attempt" at apologizing:
"I just want to say, from the deepest part of my heart, I am sorry and I will do better."
If it's coming form his "heart" now, maybe those other apologies were coming from the other end. Macaca, indeed.