Webb and Allen Hit the Issues

With Help From Their Elders, Candidates Stay on Topic

Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) traveled to Northern Virginia yesterday to push for the elimination of estate taxes while accusing his Democratic opponent, James Webb, of wanting to raise taxes.

Webb, campaigning in Richmond with Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D), focused on his main themes of Iraq, government accountability and the gulf between the rich and poor.

Allen, who is seeking a second term, was on a day-long campaign swing with Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va). He said voters should judge him on his record, which he said includes keeping taxes low, investing in technology and strengthening national security.

Webb, Allen said, "can't learn about all the issues in eight months," referring to the amount of time the Democrat has been a candidate.

"If you pay taxes, if you work for a living, if you care about families, look at my record of performance," Allen said at an event in Fairfax County, where he toured TrafficLand, a company that provides Internet access to traffic cameras.

As the Senate campaign enters its final phase, polls continue to show a very tight race.

Webb, campaigning with Wilder, also a former governor, said yesterday that he is feeling increasingly confident he can help Democrats reclaim the Senate.

"We're going to win. These past two days, I think, this is going to happen," said Webb, who plans to campaign today with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), actor Michael J. Fox and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark.

Warner was Allen's star power yesterday, and the state's senior senator stepped up his pleas that voters return Allen to the Senate.

"This is my partner," Warner said during a campaign stop at a tree farm in Loudoun County. "I served now with 261 individuals in my 28 years [in the Senate], and I rank George right up there as the best. . . . The most important thing is we trust each other."

In fact, Warner helped Allen respond to questions from reporters, interrupting him when he thought his answers were too long.

"George, there are about 20 members of the press here, and I think each of them has a question," Warner said after Allen, answering a question about how he plans to win Loudoun and Prince William counties, spent several minutes talking about memory chips.