As the Virginia Senate race remains in a dead heat and the House race gains increasing local attention, voters are left to reconcile character attacks and the candidates' stances on important issues as they decide who to support Nov. 7.
Questions of Character
As the Senate race has progressed, the candidates' political blunders caused attention to shift from the issues they stood for to a more subjective topic - personal character.
Allen, after referring to University student and Webb campaign member S.R. Sidarth as "macaca" at a rally in Southwest Virginia, faced allegations of racism. The senator later said that he simply made up the word and did not use it in a racist fashion.
Controversy surrounding Allen's reaction to the discovery of his Jewish lineage followed soon after, when Allen became visibly upset when asked about his mother's Jewish roots at a press conference.
Allegations of racism continued as three of the Senator's fellow University football players, led by UVa College and Medicine grauate Ken Shelton, reported numerous instances in which they heard the Senator using the "n-word." Four other teammates publicly refuted the allegations and said they never witnessed him using racial epithets.
Such allegations prompted Allen to air a statewide message Oct. 8 requesting that Virginia voters turn their attention back to issues rather than matters of character.
Webb has faced his share of public criticism as well. The former Navy secretary came under fire for an article he published entitled, "Why Women Can't Fight," in which he declared that women could not adequately serve in the military. Webb responded that he had "matured" since writing the paper and encouraged women's participation in "any areas where that's possible."
Most recently, Webb received criticism for sex scenes found in novels he has penned. At a rally held Monday at the University, Webb responded by reading reviews that lauded his books for their honesty and truth in conveying the harsh realities of war. Webb spokesperson Jessica Smith referred to these allegations as "a sign of desperation" from the Allen campaign.
With accusations of racism and sexism springing from voters and candidates alike, many students are left to wonder where the candidates stand on the issues.
The Issues
As expected, Webb and Allen differ greatly concerning myriad issues they have discussed in debates and rallies held throughout the campaign season. The issue they have addressed most frequently and fervently, however, is the war in Iraq.
Allen maintains his support for the war effort and has said that he would not change his vote for war, in light of the intelligence information he and his fellow Senators were presented with in 2003.
"The consequences of failure are too high," Allen said at yesterday's Charlottesville rally. "We cannot allow Iraq to become a safe haven for terrorist organizations -- that's a risk we can't afford to take. We want our troops to come home, we want them to come home as soon as possible, and we want them to come home in victory, not defeat."
Webb asserts that only troop withdrawal and increased diplomacy will remedy the situation in Iraq. He also says that he would have voted against the war and has always opposed it.
"There are 140,000 young Americans in Iraq right now, another 20,000 in Afghanistan," Webb said. "It's easy to intellectualize war when there isn't a draft and people are volunteering ... We need to keep reminding the country of the human face that is over there in this war." Webb's son is currently serving in Iraq.
According to politics Prof. Paul Freedman, Iraq is an issue that will bring voters to the polls next Tuesday.
"Certainly, Iraq is topic A in the minds of many Americas, particularly Democrats," Freedman said.
Freedman added that he expected Iraq to serve as a more central issue in the race.
"Given Allen's Senate track record and Webb's long-standing vocal opposition to the war and his own military history, I expected that we'd be hearing more about Iraq than we have," Freedman said. "This is partly due to the fact that Allen has moved a bit with his own position vis-á-vis the President."
Webb and Allen promote starkly different approaches to the issue of gay marriage, as well. Specifically, the candidates have discussed their views concerning the Marshall-Newman Amendment, also known as the "Gay Marriage Amendment," that will appear on the ballot Nov. 7.
While Webb joins Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) in opposing the amendment, which they argue is written with unnecessarily broad language that would affect even unmarried heterosexual couples, Allen opposes gay marriage and supports the amendment.
"Judges are redefining the most important institution in our society, that is, marriage," Allen said yesterday. "I firmly believe that I am going to be voting on Nov. 7 for marriage being between one man and one woman."
Immigration further divides the candidates. Allen supports implementation of "an actual fence on our border, a virtual fence and border personnel so we don't need to rely on the National Guard," and accused Webb of "rewarding illegal behavior with amnesty," adding that "we'll only get more."
Webb maintains that illegal immigration is too complicated an issue to be addressed by one bill; rather, securing the borders is the first of many steps that must be taken. Webb has said the problem of undocumented workers can be discussed and addressed only after the borders are secured.
Independent candidate Gail Parker was not included in the Senate race debates.
The House Race
Democrat Al Weed challenges incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode for a second time to represent Virginia's fifth district in the House of Representatives. While Weed received only 33% of the vote when he faced Goode in 2004, dissatisfaction with the Bush administration and Weed's increased name recognition bode well for the Democrat, according to Weed campaign Communication Director Curt Gleeson.
Weed and Goode have engaged in numerous debates in which they have discussed two issues central to the race
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