Missing Virginia

I've been living in Maryland for two years now, but I still sometimes miss Virginia. I miss it right now because I'm pretty sure that Maryland will show good sense and elect Democrats (although I'm hoping that Al Wynn will lose to Donna Edwards), and I'd love to be in Virginia where I could vote for Jim Moran, whom I respect and like, and vote against George Felix Allen.
Allen has made a fool of himself. He saw one of Jim Webb's volunteers shooting a videotape of one of his speeches. The young man was of Indian descent, born and raised in Fairfax, educated at the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and now a senior at the University of Virginia. His skin was dark. Felix called him "Macaca," a term that he might have learned at the knee of his French-Tunisian mother, who would have known it as a rough equivalent "the n-word." He also welcomed the young man to America and to Virginia.
Republicans have been jumping to Allen's defense, saying that the young man got a lot of attention in the media as a result of the event and besides, it's just political correctness run amok, and Allen apologized. I agree that the young man got attention, which was not what he was after. I also acknowledge that Allen apologized. I'll even go so far as to say that it's a good idea to have a thick skin because life is full of insulting people. Democrats have been pointing out that this is the same George Felix Allen who used to keep a Confederate flag and a noose on display in his office and has always displayed affection for the Confederacy and its symbols. That's true, too. I think that California-born Allen probably doesn't really know very much about the Confederacy, and like many other non-southerners, he thinks that the Civil War and slavery are extent of southern history and culture. That may or may not make him a racist. Don't say I'm not fair to Republicans: I have no idea of whether he's a racist or not, although he doesn't seem to mind draping himself in what many people regard as racist symbols.
Here's what's incontrovertible: For a political candidate to make a public statement that has nothing to do with the issues and fairly begs to be used against him is stupid. It demonstrates a clear lack of judgment, and politicians really have nothing to offer except judgment. Allen could have made disparaging comments about anyone in the privacy and comfort of his campaign office or his Senate office if no one were around but trusted aides. He could have made disparaging comments about anyone at home, although there's a chance that his wife might have questioned what kind of example he was setting for their children. Maybe he could have made it while surrounded by colleagues in the locker room of the Senate gym. Then the comments might have been reprehensible, but the tree-falling-in-the-forest-with-no-one-around principle would apply. Saying it in the context of a public campaign appearance with God and everybody watching is something else again. It makes clear that George Felix Allen doesn't have the judgment and self-control to be entrusted with public office. He certainly hasn't got the judgment and control to be a senator, and he absolutely hasn't got the judgment and control to consider running for president.