Allen's Campaign Manager Spins Out

Dick Wadhams, Senator George Allen's campaign manager for reelection, sent a very wordy, misspelled memo out today. And it is full of the dirty tricks that I warned he would pull.

Memo from Dick Wadhams

Memorandum

To: GOP leaders/Allen campaign leadership
From: Dick Wadhams, Campaign Manager
Re: Notes on a tough week
August 19, 2006

I think it is obvious that this past week was difficult one for Senator and Mrs. Allen and the campaign. It is very clear that the news media created what they call a "feeding frenzy", with the Washington Post alone doing major stories on the same issue for 5 consecutive days.

Literally putting words into Senator Allen's mouth that he did not say (by speculating, defining and attributing meanings and motives that simply are not true), the Webb campaign and the news media seeming worked hand-in-hand to create national news over something that did not warrant coverage in the first place.

Even after Senator Allen apologized to the Webb campaign staffer in specific, and to anyone who may have been offended in general, the news media continued to print and re-print the same speculations and inaccurate portrayals of Senator Allen's comments. Never in modern times has a statewide officeholder and candidate been so vilified in a desperate attempt to revive a campaign that was fast-sinking - the Webb campaign.

This is funny because Wadhams is just trying to spin the whole thing away, but in fact, he's propelling Webb's name everywhere, and Webb has pulled to within 2 points of Allen, which means it'll be a crazy busy fall, and if the trend continues, Webb could be ahead of Allen even by next month.

A DailyKos poster has the memo and adds his two cents:

Finally, I've got just one simple question for you: if George Allen truly does have "a long, positive, successful track record as a member of the House of Delegates and House of Representatives, as our Governor and now as our United States Senator," then why the hell don't you run your campaign on that wonderful record? Why, instead, do you spend all your time, money and energy attempting to tear down an American Hero like Jim Webb?

My question exactly.

By continuing to spin about this, Wadhams just keeps the "macaca" story in the media. And believe me, it's not a pretty one, because it simply reinforces the "George Allen is a racist" meme. Plus Webb has been gaining African American support as a result, and in a state where 20% of the population is African American, that's not petty, that's the election.

(sorry, this was supposed to go up earlier, but I accidentally hit the save as drat button instead of publish.)