George Allen pays . . .

with a shrinking lead in the polls. He may get reelected to the Senate, but I don't think anybody will take him seriously as presidential timber after the "macaca" incident. He's never excited me anyway, but Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani both have potential.

The coverage of the incident itself has been silly. The Indian gentleman was sent by the Webb campaign to heckle, but the MSM didn't see fit to make that clear. Suggesting that the clumsy word "macaca," made up by Allen on the spot, was a Portuguese term meaning "monkey" is pretty far-fetched. However, with his "Welcome to America" line, he was clearly calling attention to the man's race, and that was an attempt at a cheap shot, even if he had been more clever.

I would think that his handlers blew it by not preparing him well to handle hecklers in a more positive way than going down to their level. By doing it so clumsily, he managed to make himself look not too bright and boorish, too. I all adds up to Not Ready for Prime Time.