Washington Post Endorses Webb Over Allen

The influential Washington Post today endorsed Democrat Jim Webb for the United States Senate from Virginia, bypassing George Felix "Macaca" Allen, who the Post describes as "a mediocre senator whose six years of undistinguished service do not justify rehiring."

Here's what they say about Webb:

"His opponent -- former Navy secretary, former assistant defense secretary, former Marine Corps officer and former Republican -- is admirably independent-minded. He was prescient in warning, back in 2002, that the war in Iraq risked stranding the United States in a long-term occupation without an exit strategy. An intelligent man with a record of integrity, he has resisted the packaging of political consultants, which can only be a good thing.

"Those assets, as well as his deep familiarity with military and national security affairs, offer the promise that he would make an able, if unorthodox, U.S. senator. And the fact that his youngest son is deployed as a marine in Iraq gives him a perspective that is rare in today's Congress."

About Allen, the Post also said this:

"Mr. Allen lacks any comparable independent-mindedness. He has spent his time in the Senate in lock step with the Bush administration, embracing tax cuts that have imperiled the nation's fiscal health; subsidies for oil and gas companies that hardly needed the help; prisoner detention policies that have undercut America's image abroad; and restrictions on embryonic stem cell research despite its medical potential."

They end by saying that Allen's "legislative contributions have been marginal at best. He is no one's idea of a heavyweight in the Senate. Virginians deserve better and more enlightened representation. Mr. Webb offers that hope."

Let's all hope Virginia voters heed those words on November 7.