U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., had trouble staying on the subject when he kicked off his re-election bid last week.Instead of answering questions about his Senate plans for the next six years, Allen was asked by reporters whether he would serve out his full term.
Allen said he is focused on re-election but did not promise to serve a full term -- adding speculation that he has another focus, seeking the Republican nomination to run for president in 2008.
Allen's travels this year have taken him to North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Texas, California and New Hampshire.
Now, running for two different offices at the same time is an obvious problem. Allen doesn't look like he's dedicated to the position and is unable to explain why Virginia should re-elect again for another six year term.
But, in the same article, political expert Stuart Rothenberg disagrees.
Stuart Rothenberg, who writes a political newsletter in Washington, called the Democrats' criticism "poppycock."A politician in one office seeking a higher office happens all the time, he said.
"Senator [Hillary Rodham] Clinton is running for president; John McCain is running for president; Senator [John] Kerry is still running for president," he said.
Unless Allen misses a key vote, the voters will not hold it against him, Rothenberg said.
But Mr. Rothenberg misses the point. The problem isn't that Allen is running for a different office than the one he holds (like McCain and Kerry). It's that he is running for a different office than the one he seeks! In other words, unlike John McCain and John Kerry, Sen. Allen wants Virginia to re-elect him for an office he doesn't intend to keep. In fact, given the rigors of the Presidential primary season that should kick off in early '07, Sen. Allen likely doesn't intend to do very much for Virginia after being re-elected.
I'll let a different political expert make the point that Rothenberg ignored:
[P]olitical scientist Quentin Kidd said, "I think Senator Allen is in trouble right now."Kidd, who teaches at Christopher Newport University, said Allen has compiled a record of little accomplishment during his five years in the Senate and is too closely allied with an increasingly unpopular President Bush.
In a state that may be shifting away from Republicans toward Democrats, his poll rating of 51 percent "is a sign of trouble," Kidd said.
"It doesn't help that he is going around the country trying to run for president," he added.
Allen's kickoff tour took him to 11 Virginia localities. Most of the events were sparsely attended, but Allen aides said they did not try to drum up a large crowd.
If he hasn't done very much with his first term, it's not going to endear him to Virginia voters that he's obviously not going to do anything with a potential second term.