What’s so maddening about Allen is that many of us believed he was on his way to the White House. Going to the Senate turned out to be his biggest mistake (one wonders now if Reagan had gone to the Senate in 1974 at the end of his Governorship as he initially planned would’ve substantially harmed his future races for President — he only dropped out of running because of Watergate and polling showing him trailing Alan Cranston).
This was an unabashed Conservative in the ‘90s who took down the heir apparent Democrat to the VA Governorship when he’d been trailing for a good part of the race. The guy who unapologetically said he wanted to knock their (liberals) soft teeth down their whiny throats. He took out Robb in 2000, but that was to be his last moment of triumph. The Dems knew he was likely going to be the 2008 candidate (much in the same way the GOP thought that of Hillary), so they needed to soften him up in his 2006 reelection. Even they were flabbergasted when their kook anti-Semitic thug nominee managed to knock him off, not only grabbing the Senate in the process, but eliminating a leading Presidential candidate.
I think Allen may have merely viewed his return to the Senate as a consolation prize and ran his campaign on auto pilot, since it was highly unlikely he’d be mounting a serious run for the Presidency again. Viewed through that prism, he ultimately shouldn’t have even run again. It’s sad to see someone once so highly regarded end their career like that.
Yes you may be right. ...but think back... I think Allen had some plain bad luck. He was a a likable, cowboy boot wearing southerner in 06 who had backed W’s big spending bills. Conservatives were worn out backing socially conservative fiscal liberals and the left were in flames over any cowboy Republican. Wrong place...wrong time. Maccaca was the final straw.