Two articles here. The WaPo one is the best of the two though the analysis of the style leads and the reporting comes second.
I called several friends around the state-none of them knew about "Craney Island" either. Of course Allen didn't know $9Billion was missing from Iraq until Al Franken mentioned it to him.
Oh and Webb is asking directly about the permanent bases in Iraq.
Allen says his record is plus; Webb says it's the problem
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--senatedebate0722jul22,0,6406668.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginiaBut Allen, a Republican former governor, used his long experience in Virginia to stump Webb, forcing an embarrassing admission from the first-time candidate that he knew nothing of a major proposed Hampton Roads port project.
Allen asked Webb to elaborate on his ideas for the proper use of the 2,500-acre manmade peninsula in Portsmouth created from mud dredged from the Elizabeth River ship channel.
Webb paused an uncomfortable moment. "I'm not sure I know where Craney Island is," he conceded. "Why don't you tell me."
"Craney Island's in Virginia," Allen replied, affecting an exasperated look as he schooled Webb on the history of the site and why it's important now. Congress is considering an expansion of the site to accommodate a major international terminal that could create thousands of jobs in Hampton Roads.
Afterward, Webb dismissed Allen's question as "a classic debate-prep thing, to find one sentence and throw it out."
Webb Isn't Fitting the Challenger Mold
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200839.htmlDid he show he can stay on the same stage with Virginia's genial conservative, debating domestic and foreign policy with the commonwealth's master of the quip, a politician with a quarter-century of experience? That he did.
Did he fulfill the challenger's role of putting the incumbent on the defensive, scoring headlines and promising a furious fight to come? That he did not.
Allen, on the other hand, entertained reporters for a long time afterward. He said he would "leave it for others" to judge whether Webb had a sufficient handle on the issues, especially ones affecting Virginia, but then added, "He didn't really show a depth of knowledge."
Allen, though, didn't always seem at the top of his game. He lacked his usual delivery when he unleashed a canned line about Webb's various stints as a Democrat, then as a Republican, then back again, earning him the nickname "R2-D2." He seemed to forget what question he was answering at one point -- "Oh, the minimum wage," he finally remembered -- and he drew unintended laughter when explaining why he voted with President Bush 97 percent of the time.
"I've agreed with the president when he was right," Allen said.
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