This morning I was at a hearing of the Senate foreign relations committee. The last seat on the Democratic side was inhabited by Senator Jim Webb, the freshman from Virginia. That made me wonder what had become of the man he defeated: Republican Senator George Allen. Had Allen not uttered the racist-tainted "macaque," he'd still be a senator. And he would be one of the leading GOP presidential contenders. (Don Imus, so far, is faring much better than Allen.) So what happens to a conservative Republican ex-senator and former presidential aspirant when he hits Palookaville? Today's Richmond Times-Dispatch has the answer:

WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. George Allen will give talks on college campuses, write op-ed pieces and promote the ideas of President Ronald Reagan for a conservative political group.

"This is just absolutely perfect for me," Allen said.

Yes, it's exactly what Allen had in mind a year ago for his career.

Back to the hearing. The subject was the Darfur crisis. Senator Joe Biden, the committee chairman and a Democratic presidential candidate, declared he was tired of watching the Bush administration pussyfooting with the Sudan government regarding genocide in Darfur. "It's time to put force on the table and use it now," Biden said. Keep an eye on this issue, as hawkish Democrats--particularly presidential candidates--push the Bush administration to use bombs not just sanctions and diplomacy.

Posted by David Corn at April 11, 2007 03:14 PM