Shhh! Dubya in Virgina but Allen Doesn't Want You to Know

From the Washington Post:

As he [Va. Sen. George Felix Allen] and his wife, Susan, stood next to Bush in front of a huge U.S. flag, the president excoriated Democrats on national security and taxes. "They would have our country quit in Iraq before the job is done," Bush said. "That's why they are the party of cut and run. We will fight. We will stay. We will win in Iraq."

After the speech, the senator's aides brought Allen out to meet with reporters, where he softened the tone, saying that "America needs to adjust. Our battlefield commanders need to adjust and adapt to this evolving threat."

That's pretty sad. The Allen Campaign is so desperate to eek out a win in this thing that they've called in Dubya to raise money (about $500,000 last night) but within hours of standing next to him on the stage, the candidate all but tells the media he doesn't support the President's Iraq strategy. Why would Allen do that?

A Washington Post poll last week found that Bush's job approval among likely voters in the November election is at 43 percent in Virginia, about the same as nationally. In addition, 54 percent believe that the war in Iraq was not worth fighting, and 46 percent believe that "strongly."

Nearly a third of Virginia voters live in Northern Virginia, where political leanings are much more like Maryland's than Virginia's. Turnout numbers, especially the relative turnout of NoVa to the rest of Virginia could be the determining factor in the election.

Or George Felix Allen could say something dumb. Again. You never know.

George Allen George W. Bush Virginia Politics 2006 Election