"On January 5, 2006, in a cover story called "Grown in Virginia? Are Allen and Warner ripe for the Oval Office?" the Hook wondered if the 2008 race for president might come down to an all-Old Dominion match-up between former governor Mark Warner (D) and then-senator George Allen (R). Politicos were aflutter at the time, as both former guvs had set up federal political action committees, fared well in hypothetical presidential polls, and yet remained coy about their aspirations for higher office.

But two years is an eternity in politics, and now both Warner and Allen are nowhere to be found in the '08 campaign for the White House. What happened?

By October 2006, Warner had spent many a day in Iowa and New Hampshire, had raised over $9 million for his Forward Together PAC, and was considered the leading alternative to then-frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). But then the cell phone magnate-turned-statesman rocked supporters on October 12, 2006 when he announced that a visit with his octogenarian father, and college tours with his teenage daughter had led to a change of heart.

"This is not a choice that was made based on whether I would win or lose," Warner read from a prepared statement at a press conference. "I can say with complete conviction that 15 months out from the first nomination contests, I feel we would have had as good a shot to be successful as any potential candidate in the field."

As it turned out, Warner was not finished with politics. On September 13, 2007, he announced his candidacy for the seat to be vacated by retiring Republican Senator John Warner (no relation). If he's elected this year (he's a heavy favorite against former governor and presumptive GOP nominee Jim Gilmore), it would mark the first time the Commonwealth would be represented in the Senate by two Democrats since Harry Byrd Jr. and William Spong in 1970.

While Warner engineered his own departure from the 2008 presidential race, many have argued Allen was vanquished by YouTube. In August 2006, he was the conservatives' darling, coasting to re-election to the Senate on his way to a presidential bid. Then, at a campaign rally in a small rural part of the state, he uttered the now-infamous words, "Let's give a welcome to macaca here. Welcome to America, and the real world of Virginia."

"Macaca"-- a young UVA student of Indian descent who was in the audience filming Allen's remarks on a digital camera-- was S.R. Sidarth, a volunteer for Democratic opponent Jim Webb. As it turned out, "macaca" also happens to be a species of monkey and an ethnic slur in northern Africa.

Soon the video dominated the Internet and cable news, and from there, a series of public relations gaffes-- including Allen volunteers tackling left-wing blogger Mike Stark at a Charlottesville event eight days before the election-- decimated Allen's once-sizable lead. On Election Day, Webb barely pulled off the upset, ousting Allen by just 9,329 votes, less than half a percentage point.

In the aftermath, Allen announced he wouldn't seek the presidency in '08, and last year he declined to make another run for the Senate. But Virginia hasn't seen the last of the cowboy-booted Republican who used to represent Albemarle in the General Assembly and in Congress. The former UVA football player currently writes a blog at georgeallen.com, filled with political and pigskin commentary, and he co-chairs former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson's presidential campaign. Last month, he teased conservatives pining for his return to the fray when he told Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, "Many people are encouraging me to run" for governor in '09, but he said, for now, he's "simply listening." (Lindsay Barnes, The Hook, January 10, 2008)