Young Voters Swing Away From Allen After "Macaca" Gaffe

As reported by Jonathan Singer on MyDD, George Allen has seen his poll numbers deflate dramatically after deriding a young volunteer for his opponent (who happens to be South Asian) with a racist epithet.

SurveyUSA reports that among young voters, Allen has gone from +23 to -17, a swing of 40 points.

The video of Allen's remarks has racked up more than 200,000 views on YouTube to date, as well as recieving play in the traditional media. The gaffe was also lampooned on The Daily Show (20,000+ YouTube views for the clip).

I think this goes to show two rather obvious points, but repetition is how you get these things across, so:

1. The incominig Millennial cohort is the most racially and ethnically tolerant of any in US political history. They are not motivated in significant numbers by racial code or by most culture war issues in general; in fact, they're largely turned off by these sorts of appeals.
2. YouTube is an effective means of distributing campaign message, especially to this population. The quasi-reality-tv format can work for candidates who have the skills and staff to tap into it.