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The Democrat trying to unseat Sen. George Allen says the Bush administration is repeating its failures in Iraq by disregarding the role diplomacy could play in defusing the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.James H. Webb Jr., former Navy secretary under President Reagan, said talking with Syria could be key to brokering a deal that ends the conflict that began last month. "Sooner or later this has to be dealt with in a different way, and I think this administration has really failed in terms of reaching out diplomatically, particularly with Syria," Mr. Webb told The Washington Times. "There is a way...

Democratic U.S. Sen. candidate Jim Webb said today that money is perverting the American political process. Sitting with five Richmond area Democrats at a West End home, Webb said the need for campaign money has been the biggest surprise of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

A constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages in Virginia has strong support among state voters, according to a new poll. Fifty-six percent said that they will vote for the amendment this fall, 38 percent said they will oppose it, according to a survey completed last week by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. The company interviewed 625 registered voters who said they intend to participate in the Nov. 7 election, when the marriage amendment will appear on state ballots. The Virginia vote appears largely to be divided along partisan lines. Eighty-two percent of Republicans said they support...

RICHMOND -- U.S. Sen. George Allen holds a comfortable lead in his race for re-election and boasts a solid job approval rating, according to a poll commissioned by The Roanoke Times and other Virginia newspapers. The Republican senator leads Democratic challenger James Webb by 16 percentage points in a statewide survey conducted last week by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. But one-fifth of the voters remain undecided, and Allen still lacks majority support in his bid for a second term, according to the poll. Allen has the support of 48 percent of the voters surveyed and leads Webb by wide margins...

[snip] On Monday both campaigns claimed victory for the debate on their respective Web sites. But the Allen campaign points to one specific exchange that it refers to as a “Lesson in Geography?” as opposed to a debate. According to the AP’s report, Webb paused uncomfortably when Allen asked him to elaborate on ideas for the proper use of Craney Island, a 2,500-acre manmade peninsula. Webb admitted not knowing where Craney Island is. True to form, Allen pounced. “Craney Island’s in Virginia,” he said. He went on to tell Webb that Congress is looking into expanding the site to accommodate...

Virginia Senate Allen vs. Webb: Advantage Allen July 27, 2006 Republican Senator George Allen Incumbent Republican Senator George Allen continues to draw support from a majority of Virginia voters in his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of 500 likely voters shows Allen leading Democrat James Webb 50% to 39%. While essentially unchanged from a month ago, these numbers represent minor downturns for both candidates since our previous survey where Allen led Webb 51% to 41%. Allen added two points to his favorable rating since June with 64% of those polled holding a positive...

Herb Kohl (D-WI) is going broke. He has spent nearly $2.9 million already. His campaign is in debt $4.7 million, although that debt presumably is money he has lent his campaign from his personal fortune. He has raised $4.8 million, although I don’t know how much of that is his personal fortune, or whether his debts are from previous campaigns. He has less than $2 million in the bank. He doesn’t have an official opponent, yet. I know Wisconsin Freepers have told me to write this race off, but if Kohl’s fundraising is that poor, I suspect there will be...

Dear Friend, Provide Jim the resources to reach voters across Virginia. Donate before the Monday deadline! I wanted to write today to tell you about Saturday's debate -- our first of many with George Felix Allen. From the outset it was clear that while Allen was nervous and seemingly unwilling to answer questions directly, Jim was senatorial and showed a strong command of the issues. Even reporters were commenting to me afterward about how solid Jim's performance was and how nervous and unresponsive George Allen seemed to be. The dominant conclusion was that George Allen sure has his hands full,...

If you want to understand why Democrats are the minority party in Congress, look at four states: Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky. Before the 1994 elections, when Democrats still controlled both chambers, these Southern states had 24 Democratic House members and 14 Republicans. Among senators, there were five Republicans and three Democrats. Today, there are 24 GOP House members and 15 Democrats, and all eight senators are Republicans. Democrats acknowledge that their prospects for regaining control are dim until they start winning elections in this region. Several of this year's races are lab experiments in this effort, with Democrats...

Why have the Democrats proven so inept at electorally exploiting the growing evidence of the current Republican Party’s incompetence at governing? The Democrats certainly have a chance of doing well in the November elections, but why is this merely a possibility? In 1980, just half a dozen years after the GOP’s Watergate humiliation, voters responded to the Carter administration’s failures by electing a Republican president and Senate and scaring enough House Democrats that Ronald Reagan was able to pass much of his agenda. After five-and-a-half years of George W. Bush’s presidency, it’s reasonably clear that he wasn’t qualified for the...

Had the opportunity to attend the debate between Senator George Allen and challenger James Webb today held at The Homestead near Hot Springs Virginia. It was an interesting debate for the format of the debate incorporated several techniques for the questions to be asked of the candidates. First there was a panel made up by 3 individuals that asked questions of both the Senator and his challenger. The candidate was permitted to answer the question and then the other candidate was permitted 2 minutes for a statement and then the original person answering the question was usually allowed a minute...

HOT SPRINGS--Sen. George Allen and challenger Jim Webb crossed swords over Iraq, economic policy and their own political affiliations in their first debate, held at The Homestead during the Virginia Bar Association's annual meeting. Allen, a one-term incumbent and former Virginia governor, made frequent mention of his own long legislative record and sought to paint Webb as a flip-flopper. Webb is an author, Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan who has switched to the Democratic Party. He said it is time for "fresh eyes" on the country's problems, and he has worked to portray Allen...

Senator George Allen was on Hannity and was very supportive of Israel, a sharp contrast to the other Senator from Virginia who is blocking the pro Israel resolution. He said, "I hope that Israel takes as big of a bite and chunk out of Hizbollah as possible." Allen also went on to declare that we are not just fighting against terrorism but the Islamofacist ideology. He stated that he liked Newt Gingrich's analogy of our hypothetical response to a rocket attack on Miami. This is why I support George Allen for President in 08'.

Allen holds huge money edge on WebbGOP senator banks $6.6 million as rival reports $424,245 Republican U.S. Sen. George Allen holds a huge fundraising advantage over his Democratic opponent, Jim Webb, in the Senate race in Virginia. Reports filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission show that Allen ended June with $6.6 million in the bank, while Webb had $424,245 in cash on hand.

I'm trying yet another format change this week.  I have left the background links on the entry for each guest for each show, like last week, but I've broken the Sunday shows out into separate posts to try to make each one more easy to read and discuss.  The Saturday shows will still be posted as one message, then I'll do the ping.  Please me know if this works.And I've put my (expanded) witty commentary here instead of in the ping...The most interesting guest this week should be Secretary Rice, who is on Fox, CBS and ABC, but she probably...

Dear Friend, Provide Jim the resources to reach voters across Virginia. Donate now! If you're like me, then you're getting this email because you believe that Jim Webb is the kind of leader we need to take on our nation's toughest challenges. From stabilizing Iraq to improving schools, we need a senator who won't run from tough fights or give in to special interest bullying. We need Jim Webb. That's why I'm asking you to join our challenge to "Contest Every County." We've already got the best grassroots operation in the state. Our field operation carried us to victory in...

Virginia senatorial wife Susan Allen and Republican operative Mary Matalin, accompanied by their respective daughters, were asked to leave a birthday celebration for the city of Alexandria on Saturday evening because they were "distracting." That says a close friend of Mrs. Allen, the wife of Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen, who is seeking re-election to a second term. "They were asked to leave the public event by Alexandria's Parks and Recreation Department because they were told they were 'distracting,'" the friend states. "That was the exact word [officials] used. Perhaps these Alexandria servants should be reminded that politicking at public,...

Opponents of the war in Iraq are hurting the war effort by encouraging the enemy, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said yesterday. His Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, said opponents have a duty to speak out and criticize a war that has hurt this nation's efforts to fight terrorism. The two spoke separately to about 500 Legionnaires attending the state convention of the American Legion at the Holiday Inn Select in Chesterfield County. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a war, and it's high time people recognized that," Allen said. "There is a lot of bickering and political posturing on this ....

Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for 7/8 and 7/9/06 (not the live thread)The main message is the Sunday Shows and message 1 will be the Saturday Shows,  then I'll post the ping list.  I've changed the format as a test this week and put the links to articles and background on the guests in with their listing in the shows.  It struck me that it might have been getting less helpful to have to jump back and forth.  Let me know which format works better.ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos) Meme: Bush is all wrong about (Korea/Iraq/Immigration) and even Republicans think soNo...

Dear Friend, Take Action Today! 1. Contribute 2. Forward to a Friend 3. Volunteer 4. Purchase Webb Gear What a tremendous end to our second quarter fundraising campaign last week. We raised over 160% of our original goal. Over 1,200 supporters contributed to our campaign for the first time. Many of our supporters have sent their friends invitations to join our campaign. Thank you for your help. You are making a critical difference in this campaign. In addition to strong fundraising, we had two other pieces of good news in recent weeks. Two polls came out confirming what we already...