Bush Raises Money for Sen. Allen Amid Uproar

President Bush on Wednesday followed through on plans to help raise campaign funds for a Republican senator embroiled in a debate over his use of what many considered a slur against a man of Indian descent.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush had no qualms about attending a fundraiser for Sen. George Allen (R-Va.). “Sen. Allen apologized,” she said, “and I think it’s in everyone’s best interest

On Aug. 11, Allen used the word “macaca” in referring to S.R. Sidarth, a University of Virginia senior who was videotaping Allen at a campaign event. Sidarth was working for Allen’s Democratic challenger in the November election, former Navy Secretary James H. Webb.

“My friends, we’re going to run this campaign on positive, constructive ideas,” Allen told an audience of supporters in Breaks, Va.

Seconds later, looking at Sidarth, Allen said: “This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca or whatever his name is, he’s with my opponent, he’s following us around everywhere.... So let’s give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.”

The meaning of “macaca” quickly became a subject of debate, with Democrats saying it was no compliment. Macaca is a genus of monkeys that includes macaques, and the word is considered a slur in some countries.

Allen’s campaign manager called the word a variation of “mohawk,” a reference to Sidarth’s hairstyle. Initially, Allen said he made the name up, then said he recalled that he had a niece nicknamed “Maca Maca.”

Allen soon apologized publicly for using the word, and on Wednesday he called Sidarth directly to offer an apology.

“It was humiliating, very shocking that it would come out of Sen. Allen’s mouth,” said Sidarth, 20, who was born in the United States to parents who emigrated from India. “We hold our elected officials to a higher standard.”

“I think it was the first thing that came into his mind when he saw someone of color in that all-white audience,” Sidarth said in an interview.

Sidarth said Allen did the right thing by contacting him. “He realized how offended I was, and he was apologizing from the heart.”

Sidarth said he asked Allen why it took him nearly two weeks to apologize, and the senator responded that he had expected to see Sidarth at another campaign event.

Bruce E. Cain, director of the University of California Washington Center, said the controversy had turned Allen’s reelection bid from a breeze to a battle. In the latest poll of likely Virginia voters, conducted Friday through Sunday, SurveyUSA found Allen leading Webb 48% to 45%, down from the 56% to 37% edge that Allen enjoyed in June.

Cain said the episode also had left Allen “dead in the water” as a presidential candidate in 2008, a possibility that the senator had been exploring.

The U.S. Senate election in Virginia could have national significance. Republicans control the Senate by virtue of their 55 seats out of 100, but Democrats have a chance in November of regaining control.

Bush traveled across the Potomac River on Wednesday to help Allen with a fundraiser to build up his already formidable campaign war chest. The event, in Alexandria, Va., was closed to the media.

Times staff writer Richard Simon contributed to this report.