Viewed from a machiavellian perspective, this was a clever tactical move. It doesn't help improve the quality of the political debate one iota...I disagree. The rats themselves have made character a central issue in this election, claiming that the President is an evil liar who conspired to take us into an unnecessary war. I would say that in the present political context, questions of character are central to the ongoing political debate in this country.
Character is always an issue in any election. This isn't going to help the debate much since:
1. The lamestream media in Virginia will only report this in the context of "Senator Allen's horrible mudslinging accusations." So most people won't know about this, except to the extent that this is publicized by talk radio and alternative media like FR.
and,
2. With respect, how does this answer questions such what would you do regarding foreign policy? What would you do about taxes? It doesn't. There's nothing to debate other than Mr. Webb published some of what I and many others on this website would consider filth.
3. Debate implies that there's someone else to debate. If Mr. Webb is smart, he'll follow the lead of the lamestream media in Virginia and simply ignore this.