Even before any serious presidential contenders have officially come forward to announce their bids, Virginia already has a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012, a man who tossed his cowboy hat into the ring earlier this week.

George Allen released a video on YouTube Monday, announcing his intention to run for the same Senate seat he lost four years ago.

For those unfamiliar with the 2006 campaign, it basically came down to one word—macaca. Allen, who was leading in the polls at the time, used the obscure (until now, that is) word to describe a volunteer for his opponent, Democrat Jim Webb. The volunteer is a man of Indian descent, and macaca, it turns out, is a derogatory term used in some European countries to refer to African immigrants, as well as slang used to describe a monkey.

Tainted by this off-hand comment, as well as subsequent allegations of racism, Allen lost the campaign to Webb by a narrow margin, and watched his hopes for a possible presidential bid in 20...