RICHMOND Va.
U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., personally called an opponent’s aide and apologized for singling the man out almost two weeks ago with an obscure comment that has cast a shadow over the senator’s White House ambitions, his campaign says.
S.R. Sidarth, a Democratic volunteer of Indian descent, was videotaping an Allen campaign event when the senator pointed to him and twice called him “Macaca.” Macaca is a genus of monkeys that includes macaques, and is considered a racial slur in some parts of the world.
“This fellow over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca or whatever his name is, he’s with my opponent,” Allen said. He noted that his opponent, Democrat Jim Webb, was raising money in California, then told the crowd of about 100 supporters: “Let’s give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.”
Sidarth, who was born just outside of Washington D.C., in Fairfax County, Va., says he felt Allen was singling him out because of his race. Webb’s campaign posted the video on YouTube.com, then alerted reporters. Within days of the Aug. 11 rally, it became a dominant political story and grist for late-night talk shows and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”
Allen on Wednesday tracked down a phone number for Sidarth at the University of Virginia, where the 20-year-old had returned for his senior year, and apologized to him, says campaign manager Dick Wadhams.
“Senator Allen made a heartfelt apology,” Wadhams says. “He told Sidarth he thought he would see him on the campaign trail, but Sidarth had headed back to U.Va., so we Googled his name, found his number and the senator called him this morning.”
