George Allen writing book: "The Triumph of Character"

The former senator comes back on the scene with an ironically titled book

Published July 7, 2009 10:15PM (EDT)

Former Sen. George Allen, R-Va., has had a rough few years. He was seen as a strong contender for the GOP's presidential nomination in 2008, maybe even the next president, he lost his Senate seat in 2006 after he called S.R. Sidarth, who was working for his Democratic opponent, "macaca," a racial slur, starting a flood of information about Allen's long history as a racist. (Some of the best coverage of Allen's past was done right here in Salon -- see, for example, Michael Scherer's article about some of the senator's old college teammates recalling an incident in which he put a severed deer's head in a black family's mailbox.)

But now Allen's coming back to the national scene with a book at least one observer believes might be an attempt at a political comeback. Set to be published by a conservative house, Regnery, next year, it's called "The Triumph of Character: What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports."

From a release announcing the book:

In The Triumph of Character, Allen brings together two all-American passions—politics and sports—and reveals what Washington could learn from the enduring principles found in athletic competition and team sports. Having spent the better part of his life with one foot in both the world of sports and the world of politics, Allen will draw parallels and contrasts between the two arenas. Using his own engaging and entertaining personal stories, Allen will illustrate how “characters with character” in the meritocracy of sports can provide principled, competitive examples of the ways to surmount challenges facing America.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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