Breaking: GOP To Pressure Allen to Concede

Top Republicans in Washington will give Sen. George Allen a few days to take stock of his legal and political options before beginning to pressure him to concede to James Webb. Senior Republican officials and White House aides believe that Webb won the race. Several outside advisers to Allen want him to make the decision quickly; others in his campaign want to make sure that there's no chance a cache of new votes will turn up. One question: when will the AP call the race? From MARC AMBINDER at the National Journal's Hotlineblog.

A great, great deal rides on James Webb becoming Senator after winning the race in Virginia. The voting there is electronic, so there is no huge cache of votes to "find" behind a radiator, there is a State Election Commission which is appointed by the Governor, and there have been two straight Democratic governors. Doesn't look like Floridian hanky-panky is very possible this time, but people there expect the matter to be handled very carefully, for the recount to be state-mandated, and for it to last into December before a final count is reached. Under these conditions, 7,000 votes will be a huge number for "Senator Macaca" to make up.

Meantime, here is the description of what the Senator-in-Waiting from Virginia, James Webb, did to win the Navy Cross in Vietnam (from his citation, hat-tip to Virginia-based Pat Lang at the adored Sic Semper Tyrannis):

“..deep in hostile territory, First Lieutenant Webb's platoon discovered a well-camouflaged bunker complex…. First Lieutenant Webb was advancing to the first bunker when three enemy soldiers armed with hand grenades jumped out. Reacting instantly, he grabbed the closest man and, brandishing his .45 caliber pistol at the others, apprehended all three of the soldiers. … He then approached the second bunker and called for the enemy to surrender. ….Continuing the assault, he approached a third bunker and was preparing to fire into it when the enemy threw another grenade. Observing the grenade land dangerously close to his companion, First Lieutenant Webb simultaneously fired his weapon at the enemy, pushed the Marine away from the grenade, and shielded him from the explosion with his own body. Although sustaining painful fragmentation wounds from the explosion, he managed to throw a grenade into the aperture and completely destroy the remaining bunker.”

Mr. Webb also wrote "Fields of Fire," a novel about the Vietnam conflict which is very popular reading at our military academies. Here's to a Senator the United States can truly be proud of. Thank You Virginia!!