Allen Staffer says Allen's GOING TO LOSE!!!

I wasn't going to write a diary tonight.  I wanted to get some sleep because I have to vote early tomorrow morning and then head to Webb HQ in Arlington to be part of the final GOTV door-knocking team.

But one snippet from CNN just forced me to write a diary.  This is so freakin' awesome.

BOUNCE over the BUMP.
I'm just unwinding tonight - I had to work my real job today and was also trying to squeeze in some phone banking, I had taken my 45 free minutes today to swing by Webb HQ and pick up two yard signs promised to business colleagues and then delivered them (man did I drive fast).

I normally don't like Larry King's show (his questions just suck - I don't know why they keep him around - but I had it on in the background while I was doing emails and things at the computer.  They had Markos on with that hack David Frum, but that isn't what got me excited enough to run to the computer (Markos, incidentally, did a good job but King didn't give him enough time to speak, imo).

After the Frum/Moulitsas segment and an interview with the idiodically smiling Rick Santorum, King went to Ed Henry who is in Richmond covering the Webb/Allen race.  I'll transcribe this.  It's excellent.

KING:  ...Allen/Webb race.  Where are you?

HENRY: Good evening from Richmond, Larry.  Tonight George Allen, the incumbent, on the defensive like Rick Santorum, in a very tough battle here in Virginia.  And George Allen had a rally here in Richmond.  He's not getting the large crowds - he had about 250 people for his final rally.  His Democratic opponent Jim Webb, on the other side of the state actually had former President Bill Clinton come in.  Police officials estimate that rally to have some 5,000 to 6,000 people.  

Part of it has to do with enthusiasm for Webb on the issue of Iraq.  He's somebody who's a Vietnam veteran, he wears combat boots on the campaign trail - his son's combat boots because he's serving currently in Iraq.  He has been calling for a new course with the war.  

Senator Allen, now, in recent weeks has been doing that as well, and he's been saying there's been a lack of progress in Iraq.  In fact, tonight Senator Allen, taking an extraordinary step buying two minutes of airtime all across the Commonwealth of Virginia - saying mistakes have been made in Iraq but urging voters to give him another chance, another six years to try to turn this around...

Ok... Ok... So Henry just totally bitch-slapped Allen first by pointing out that he had a measley crowd at his rally - a barely fractional crowd compared to that at Webb's rally this evening... And THEN he basically explained how Allen has been a flip-flopper on the war, explained that he had essentially begged for another term to "turn things around" (yeah right) while simultaneously pointing out the "enthusiasm" for Webb, Webb's service, and the service of his son.  SWEET!!!

But that wasn't even CLOSE to the best part.

HENRY: ...It's also quite interesting - I talked to a senior person in the Allen camp tonight who said he realizes this could go either way.  They're going to bed tonight not really sure whether they're going to pull it out.  I talked to a more junior person in the Allen campaign, actually thinks the Senator's going to lose - he's saying he feels the campaign did not handle a lot of the earlier mistakes like that infamous macaca moment that sparked charges of racism.  So - other officials in the Allen camp more optimistic but this is going to be a very difficult final 24 hours here for Senator Allen and a very tight race, Larry.

The rats are jumping off the ship!!  When a senior official expressed uncertainty and a junior official says your going to lose and only 250 people show up at your rally and you're a racist and you have to GOTV apparatus in place because you thought you were going to win it in a walk, life sucks.  SUCK ON, Senator Macacawitz - you deserve every ounce of this.

I am SO FREAKING PSYCHED to do my LAST day of GOTV tomorrow.  See y'all at the victory party!!!

Comments