MACAQUE THIS. Ryan Lizza makes a great point on George Allen�s "Macaque" slur. As of now, it's a weird term that few of us know, and Allen is seeking to capitalize on it by claiming that "I don't know what it means." Why'd he use a word he doesn't know? Because it sounds vaguely like "mohawk," a word that doesn't describe the target's haircut, but sounds enough like "macaque" that the Allen campaign has decided to make it the alibi (left unexplained is why Allen didn't just use the word "mohawk"). Here's the thing, as Lizza notes: Allen is one of the few people who actually would know the term "macaque." It's a French slur for North Africans. Allen's mother is French Tunisian -- yes, a North African -- and Allen speaks French. You stay classy, George.
--Ezra Klein
