The Candidate: Will George Allen be the GOP Nominee in '08?

George Will wonders if perhaps Virginia Senator George Allen will surface as the GOP's top contender for the presidential nomination in 2008. Will seems to think Allen is a rising star in what is otherwise a very weak field of contenders.

Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, Will maintains, has been damaged politically by the Senate fillibuster compromise, which has also hurt John McCain BIG TIME among members of the Republican base. (I thought to myself in 2000, "If we can just beat McCain this time, we won't have to worry about him again, because he'll be so old by 2008." Guess I was wrong.)

Will describes Allen in glowing terms:

"He has the same name as his father, the late Hall of Fame head coach of the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins who was, to say no more, tightly wound, as coaches tend to be. If the son is similarly driven -- and he must be to embark on this marathon -- he conceals it beneath a demeanor akin to Ronald Reagan's, which was once described as ``Aw, shucks, I just stepped on my sneaker laces.'' Except there are no laces on Allen's cowboy boots, which go with the smokeless tobacco in the circular can in his pocket.

One of his father's mantras was ``Hit hard and good things will happen.'' The son, who as a University of Virginia graduate headed Young Virginians for Reagan in the 1976 nomination contest with President Ford, has Reagan's knack for expressing strong views in an unthreatening manner."

You can read George Will's article in its entirety when you click here.