RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republican Sen. George Allen and his Democratic challenger Jim Webb sparred with both each other and their pasts during the final televised debate in Virginia's tight, closely watched U.S. Senate race. The face-off Monday shed little new light on the positions of either candidate in a race that could help determine whether the GOP retains control of the Senate. Both sides generally evoked boilerplate answers, often lifted directly from campaign literature.
The debate touched on allegations that Allen used racial slurs in the past and on a 1979 magazine article in which Webb, a former Navy secretary under President Reagan, argued that women are not fit to command men in battle.
Allen dismissed as "baseless allegations" claims by some of his former University of Virginia football teammates that in the 1970s he freely used an epithet to describe black people. He urged people to look at his record on race, including his efforts to help historically black colleges and universities.
Webb said Allen's use of the word "macaca," an obscure racial slur, to single out a Webb campaign volunteer of Indian descent amounted to "unnecessary bullying."
Asked about his 1979 Washingtonian magazine article, "Women Can't Fight," Webb said he is now comfortable with the role of women in the military.
Allen touted his own record of appointing women to Cabinet positions when he was Virginia's governor from 1993-1997 and his efforts to get more women interested in science and engineering.
Each candidate attempted to use the debate to clearly distinguish himself from his opponent—Allen to reassure conservatives who were unsettled by his missteps that have erased his clear lead and Webb to advance himself as a populist champion of the middle class and connect Allen with Bush, the war and tax cuts for the wealthy.
The debate spun out of control during a segment in which candidates were allowed to ask each other questions. Allen and Webb became argumentative, talking over one another and making it virtually impossible to understand what either was saying.
The most heated exchange centered on taxes. Allen said he has supported tax cuts that Webb has criticized. Webb said tax cuts during a time of increased federal spending and a growing deficit are unwise.
"You can't keep spending like this without increasing revenues," Webb said.
Allen asked Webb if he knew "how many Virginians have benefited from the tax relief you criticize." For nearly a minute, the candidates talked at the same time before the debate's moderator finally intervened and Allen ended the exchange by saying: "The answer is 3 million Virginians."
On foreign policy, Webb called for a "diplomatic solution" to the war in Iraq while Allen stuck by his support of President Bush's strategy. "Rather than retreating, we need to make sure Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists," Allen said.
Allen held a 16 percentage-point lead over Webb in July, when the race was viewed as little more than a warm-up for Allen leading to a potential 2008 presidential bid. The lead has evaporated since August. A statewide poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. released earlier this month showed the two candidates tied.
Throughout the debate, Webb looked tense, his eyes riveted on his off- camera questioners or on Allen. His answers were detailed, sometimes to the point of wonkishness; his delivery sometimes halting.
Allen, a veteran of numerous TV debates in his long political career, appeared relaxed, his eyes connecting comfortably with the camera, even as he offered up refrains he has used for years and made a practice of opening his response with attacks on Webb.
At least three times, Allen took pains to link Webb, a former Republican, with Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee.
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Associated Press Writer Bob Lewis contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Allen: http://www.georgeallen.com/
Webb: http://www.webbforsenate.com/
