One of the strangest moments in the recent history of political debates took place yesterday in Virginia, where former Reagan aide James Webb is challenging incumbent George Allen for the Senate. Instead of asking a question about issues that Senators will address in future sessions of Congress, a television reporter decided to ask Allen whether his mother has Jewish blood:

At a debate in Tysons Corner yesterday between Republican Allen and Democrat Webb, WUSA-TV's Peggy Fox asked Allen, the tobacco-chewing, cowboy-boot-wearing son of a pro football coach, if his Tunisian-born mother has Jewish blood.

"It has been reported," said Fox, that "your grandfather Felix, whom you were given your middle name for, was Jewish. Could you please tell us whether your forebears include Jews and, if so, at which point Jewish identity might have ended?"

Allen recoiled as if he had been struck. His supporters in the audience booed and hissed. "To be getting into what religion my mother is, I don't think is relevant," Allen said, furiously. "Why is that relevant -- my religion, Jim's religion or the religious beliefs of anyone out there?"

"Honesty, that's all," questioner Fox answered, looking a bit frightened.

"Oh, that's just all? That's just all," the senator mocked, pressing his attack. He directed Fox to "ask questions about issues that really matter to people here in Virginia" and refrain from "making aspersions."

Many people have criticized Allen for reacting angrily to the question, as well as equating a suggestion of Jewish heritage to an "aspersion" in the heat of the moment. However, the Senator can be forgiven for his shock at having to answer for his mother's ancestry in a political debate in America.

The notion that any political candidate has to answer for their religious or ethnic heritage on the political stump is anathema to a nation that founded itself on the notion of equal treatment under the law, even if we often fell short of that ideal during our history. Those failures include our treatment of Jews in public and private, who often found themselves on the outside of social and governmental circles. Our Constitution specifically rejects religious tests for public offices, and we have worked hard ever since to ensure that people of all faiths can access our systems of power.

Having this question posed at a political event is bad enough. Having it posed by a member of the media is an embarrassment. Fox's response that she just wanted some "honesty" is a bad dodge for a monumental insult to our traditions of religious tolerance. What possible difference would it make if Allen's mother had Jewish ancestry or not? What difference would it make whether Webb had Irish ancestry? We don't elect leaders on the basis of their mother's faith, let alone their own. Fox knows this -- and so questioning Allen on his purported Jewish ancestry had a particular point, and that point wasn't a test of Allen's honesty.

The only person who should be questioned on motivations is Fox, and perhaps her apologists in the blogosphere, including Dana Milbank in this linked story. He seems to think that Allen got angry because Jewish ancestry "wouldn't play well in parts of Virginia". I'd say that Allen got angry at a reporter -- who, after all, operates under the freedom of the Constitution -- for attempting to inject his mother's choice of faith into his election and setting up an ad-hoc religious test. Allen got angry at the reporter for violating one of our deeply-held tenets regarding tolerance of faith in politics. And most of us wonder why Milbank and the rest of the people making excuses for Fox don't understand that.

UPDATE: More bad news for the Milbank Shame Theory, as pointed out by CQ commenter JenOnTheWeb -- Eric Cantor won his seat in the House in 2004 with 76% of the vote, a fact of which I'm certain Allen is aware. Virginians don't have a problem electing Jews to Congress, even if the Virginia media seems to have a problem tolerating them. I guess Milbank didn't bother to check that out.

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