The plot thickens

Larry Sabato, UVA prof and classmate of Sen. Allen, has unequivocally claimed that the Senator did indeed use the n-word, contrary to Allen’s prior denials. From the AP:

RICHMOND, Va. - A noted political scientist joined one of Sen. George Allen’s former college football teammates in claiming the senator used a racial slur to refer to blacks in the early 1970s, a claim Allen dismisses as "ludicrously false."

Larry J. Sabato, one of Virginia's most-quoted political science professors and a classmate of Allen's in the early 1970s, said in a televised interview Monday that Allen used the epithet.

[Snip]

Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, would not tell The Associated Press how he knew Allen used the n-word. He told Chris Matthews on MSNBC that he did not know whether it was true that Allen used the word frequently while in college.

"I'm simply going to stay with what I know is the case and the fact is he did use the n-word, whether he's denying it or not," Sabato said.

Smack! What we have here is an old-fashioned pissing match between a sitting Senator and a powerful voice in Virginia politics. Larry Sabato is a guy with a pretty big soapbox so crossing him would be really, really stupid. Plus, the professor is very astute, has a lot of creditability with the Beltway crowd, and is not known to pick fights.

The real danger for Allen now is not that he is being further exposed as a bigot. The damage on that front is already done. People in the Commonwealth that are not going to vote for a guy they think is a racist have already made up their minds. The bigger problem is that a reasonable and credible voice with a substantial media presence has essentially called him out as a liar. Allen’s good old boy image was built on a façade of folksy, straight-shooter charm and affability that people seemed to like. With Sabato challenging his honesty and integrity, that could all be washed away.