PressEthic

Senator George Allen (R-VA) is facing more criticism in his campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate. On Tuesday, the candidate issued a statement embracing his Jewish heritage. The New York Times quoted the following:

I embrace and take great pride in every aspect of my diverse heritage, including my Lumbroso family line’s Jewish heritage, which I learned about from a recent magazine article and my mother confirmed.

Senator Allen issued the statement after Peggy Fox, a reporter with WUSA-TV, asked him if his mother was Jewish during a debate with his Democratic primary competitor Jim Webb on Monday. He responded, “To be getting into what religion my mother is, I don’t think it’s relevant.” His supporters in the audience booed when the question was asked, according to the Washington, DC NBC affiliate, and reports say that Allen was clearly agitated with the question.

This is not the first time Allen has been under fire from the public and the media. Earlier in the campaign, he used an obscure term, “macaca” to refer to a dark-skinned volunteer for Webb. While that was clearly a controversial statement, does this latest issue warrant national and international media coverage? Or, is the new media available today, blogging specifically, fueling the fire?

Although the New York Times buried the story on page A22 of its print edition , their political blog, The Caucus, featured a heated debate from both sides of the issue.

ABC reported on their Web site:

The Allen campaign accused the Webb campaign and liberal bloggers of trying to inject anti-Semitism into the campaign. The Webb campaign swiftly denied the charge. Allen's campaign manager said any attempt to bring religion into a political debate was "inappropriate."

Is the media, new and old, picking up on a campaign tactic Allen’s competitor is using to smear the incumbent or is Allen’s heritage and/or his reaction to the question a matter of importance to the voters that should be covered by the media?