I attended the Allen vs. Webb debate yesterday — I’ll have more to say about the Virginia race soon, but right now I’ll add my two cents with respect to the question about Allen’s possible Jewish ancestry. It was exceedingly weird and, coming right after the inevitable “macaca” discussion, it really helped Allen turn the tables. This was before a Chamber of Commerce audience that was perhaps a bit more pro-Allen than pro-Webb, but by no means anti-Webb; listeners responded very negatively to the question and very favorably to Allen’s response. This was the type of question for which Allen probably had not prepared — unlike his scripted apology for “macaca” and his silly feminist attacks on Webb — and he handled it deftly. Anger was probably not the only response available to him, but it was not an inappropriate one and, at least for those sitting in the room and watching, it really seemed to work. Per the debate’s rules, Webb was given a short rebuttal; there was nothing to rebut, however, and Webb basically said that he agreed with Allen’s comments and tried to change the subject back to “macaca.” The subjects of race, ethnicity, and religion were at that point laid to rest and the debate turned to traffic, health care, guns, and Iraq.