Former Virginia Sen. George Allen, who was considered an early Republican frontrunner for the 2008 presidential election until he started throwing around obscure racial slurs in his failed 2006 Senate reelection bid, wants his seat back. Hide, minorities!

Allen announced his bid for a 2012 rematch against Sen. Jim Webb (assuming he runs again) this morning, on YouTube. You can watch it up top! There are some pictures of founding fathers' statues and smiling families backed by warm rhetoric about destroying Barack Obama and everything he stands for.

So why is he announcing this bid so early on in the 2012 election cycle? Ben Smith's take sounds about right:

Allen's return will inevitably conjure up his remarkable 2006 flameout: The presidential hopeful laid low by the "Macaca" incident, the cringe-worthy attacks on Jim Webb's novels, the allegation — from Larry Sabato among others — of casual racism as a young man, and the rest.

The hope: He'll answer all those questions so often, and so well, this year, that at some point they'll stop being asked.

Stop being asked? George Allen must be held accountable! We'll be testing out the durability of old 2006 George Allen jokes over the next few months.