"U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., appeared to back further away from the unpopular war in Iraq in an address to 1,000 real estate agents in Richmond yesterday.

'Mistakes have been made, and our progress has been far too slow,' said Allen.

The Republican senator's Democratic opponent, Jim Webb, who was endorsed yesterday by a group of women associated with the military, has opposed the war from the beginning, making the race a potential referendum on the war.

In Washington yesterday, Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said he believes national-security issues will be a winner for the Democrats. He played an ad featuring Webb that hits Allen over the situation in Iraq.

The Webb ad, which is no longer being shown, ties Allen to President Bush and shows Allen on camera saying, 'I very much agree with the president' and 'We need to stay the course.'

In Richmond, Allen spoke to one of the largest audiences of his campaign at the biennial luncheon of the Richmond Board of Realtors at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Allen drew a smattering of applause when he said he wants the troops to come home as soon as possible. But, as in the past, he did not set a deadline and said the troops can't leave the country to chaos and ethnic cleansing.

He drew larger applause when he said he wants the troops to 'come home in victory, not in defeat.'

Allen has been a defender of the war and the Bush administration's handling of it almost since the first troops went in. He has returned from Iraq several times with optimistic assessments.

Recently, however, as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, he has been more pessimistic.

Asked if his message of concern about the war has become stronger, Allen replied, 'I think it has become stronger. And it's a realistic assessment of the situation. . . . We need to adapt; we need to change; we need to look at better ways of getting success. I am not pleased with the progress. The Iraqi people need to take control of their own destiny. . . . We cannot leave Iraq a safe haven for terrorists.'

In Arlington County, a group of women associated with the military endorsed Webb, saying he opened up operational posts to women when he was secretary of the Navy and is now a seasoned leader with the benefit of extensive military experience.

The supporters included retired Brig. Gen. Clara Adams-Ender, who has appeared in a TV ad for Webb, and former assistant secretaries of the Navy and of the Air Force.

Writing in 1979, Webb decried the presence of women in the service academies and described a dormitory at the newly coeducational Naval Academy as 'a horny woman's dream.'

He has since apologized and says he is comfortable with women in the military. Allen has run TV ads featuring former female midshipmen criticizing Webb. Webb has run counter ads of midshipmen praising him.

Separately, Webb said he would have voted for legislation Bush signed yesterday that affects the treatment of terror suspects. But he said he was displeased with parts of it and would work to refine it if elected to the Senate.

Allen and U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., voted for the measure.

In Richmond, Allen also met with members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He was joined by Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who is Hispanic and whom Allen helped get elected to the Senate in 2004.

Martinez, the first Cuban-American elected to the Senate, said he and Allen disagree over immigration policy. Allen has taken a hard line over immigration, while Martinez wants to allow more guest passes for illegal immigrants who live here.

In another matter, the League of Women Voters of Virginia asked the Allen campaign to stop using a video from the League-sponsored debate on Oct. 9. Anne Kanter, voter-services director for the League, said Allen and Webb agreed not to use clips of the opposing candidate for campaign purposes.

A spokesman for Allen said Webb broke the agreement when debate footage was posted on his unofficial campaign blog site an hour after the debate. The League said Webb took down any links to the site." (Tyler Whitley and Peter Hardin, Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 18, 2006)

Editor's Note: An index to coverage of George Allen on the Loper website may be found at http://loper.org/~george/archives/2006/Aug/925.html