Allen's Goof

Sen. George Allen (R-VA) ran into a bit of trouble recently after being tailed by an opponent's operative with a camera. The political paparazzi (of Indian ancestry) eventually prodded enough to land his money maker; Mr. Allen referred to him as a macaca. The term relates to a species of monkey; it is also used in French to describe someone who's 'monkeying around' or as a racial slur for north Africans (despite his southern homeboy appearance, Mr. Allen is fluent in French). There was a flurry of media coverage, most predicting the eventual demise of the GOP's in-party favorite because of the slip.

I saw a clip the other day from Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) entitled Joe Biden Enjoys the Taste of His Own Foot. It seems equivalent, yet there has been no mention in mainstream media. Initially I though it was hypocrisy, but now I think it's more a matter of who said it.

For Mr. Biden, his cordial off-the-cuff comments, with which reporters are familiar and thus ignore, will cripple his presidential aspirations once national attention is focused on the candidates. For Mr. Allen, he should be pleased he received a barrage of coverage for such a minor incident; it means his candidacy is being taken seriously.