http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/virginia_gop_reachin...

We checked in with the state GOP to ask if Allen is really an effective front-man for the party's efforts to win over minorities, given the "macaca" scandal.

The answer? Yes! "George Allen has an excellent record on issues of diversity, reaching out to people," Gerry Scimeca, communications director for the state party, told us. "His whole career, his whole life have been a testament to a guy who's treated people equally across racial lines, across every kind of line."

*Asked whether "macaca" might cloud the message a bit, Scimeca said the whole thing was a smear-job by the Dems: "Anyone had to go on Wikipedia to be offended by it. And you know how people can mess with Wikipedia."*

Scimeca argued that Allen's father was a football coach who held up his players, many of whom were African-Americans, as role models for his children. "This is not a racist man," Scimeca said. "He never did anything -- this was totally out of character."

Come to think of it, maybe George Allen is the best spokesperson for the GOP's minority outreach, after all.