It's no secret that former Sen. George Allen has endorsed state Senate Leader Walter Stosch for re-election against Joe Blackburn. Until now, however, the endorsement just seem to sit there on the shelf...a curio gathering dust more than anything else.

But in today's post comes a direct mail piece from "Allen Cabinet Members for Senator Walter Stosch." Aside from the small miracle of getting all that in the cornercard, the letter inside was nothing short of astounding.

Yes, there's the (non-personalized...for shame!) Stosch-touting letter signed by Frank Atkinson, Betsy Davis Beamer, Robert Skunda, Michael Thomas and...wait for it...Jerry Kilgore.

Okay, so the Kilgore endorsement is not a secret, either. But the content of the letter is downright laughable. Here's a good one:

As you can see from the enclosed letter, Walter Stosch was a key player in reducing the size and scope of government. His talents professionally, and as a legislator led to the innovative policies that put Virginia in the vanguard of economic development and created thousands of jobs in the Richmond area and across Virginia

So many laughs, in such a short space. Kudos to the copywriter! But let's see...when did Virginia government ever get smaller in size or scope? Perhaps during the Starving Time (along with everything else). But recently? Nope. And don't get me started on the universal conceit that politicians can create jobs. No. They. Don't.

I also just love the subtle inclusion of the title of Atkinson's book, "Virginia in the Vanguard" in the copy. Its almost punny.

But the real fun comes on the "enclosed letter." Yes, it's "From the Desk of Senator George Allen" (making it an artifact, of sorts) and it contains a number of gauzy phrases and clauses that typified the last Allen campaign. And like that last, unlamented effort, they are painful to recount, but here's a sample:

For that phrase -- "live, work and raise a family" -- to thrive in the future, we need you, Walter, in the Senate of Virginia. Please share with your constituents my sincere desire to see you returned to office so you can keep fighting for the good people of Henrico, Goochland and Richmond."

Yes, indeed, it is possible to live, work and raise a family in Virginia. But none of those activities depends upon, or is indebted to, the activities of a single politician. Surely George Allen, of all people, knows this. Or knew this. Once upon a time.

Now I realize this is just direct mail. I know it's intended to glaze over the last decade of Walter's incumbency and focus instead on the glory years of the early 1990s, when both Stosch and Allen were different politicians than they are today.

I also fully realize that Allen's support is based as much upon loyalty as it is on the possibility that he might need Stosch's support again at some future date. That's politics (or logrolling, depends on your point of view).

But this letter, and the one signed by the other Allen cabinet luminaries, leaves a very bad taste. And it reinforces for me what some conservatives were whispering about Allen during the dark days last fall...what happened to the man we elected in 1993?

What happened to him? It's still an open question.