Media Matters provides a damning timeline of George Allen’s various excuses for his “macaca” comments:

Allen did not know what
“macaca” means, and his use of the term was really intended as a
play on the word “'mohawk,' a term that his campaign staff had
nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut,” which Sidarth
characterizes as “a mullet — tight on top, long in the back.”
Allen said he “'would
never want to demean him [Sidarth] as an individual. I do apologize if
he's offended by that. That was no way the point.” [The Washington Post; 8/15/06]

From Allen's statement
provided to CNN: “[M]y comments at Breaks Interstate
Park on August 11th
have been greatly misunderstood by members of the media. I … made up
a nickname for the cameraman [Sidarth], which was in no way intended to be
racially derogatory. Any insinuations to the contrary are completely
false.” [National Journal's
The Hotline weblog; 8/15/06]

Allen was calling Sidarth a
“mash-up” of terms that amounted to “shit-head.”
“[T]wo Republicans who heard the word used” claimed
“macaca” was a combination of ” '[m]ohawk,' referring to
Sidarth's distinctive hair, and 'caca,' Spanish slang for
excrement, or 'shit.'
” [The Hotline; 8/16/06]

“For folks to think that
I would know what sorts of genus of monkeys are in Eastern
Asia — ascribe
a lot more intelligence to me than I actually have.” [ABC's Nightline; 8/16/06]

From an August 19 memo Allen
campaign manager Dick Wadhams sent to Republican leaders and
the Allen campaign leadership: “[T]he news media created what they
call a 'feeding frenzy' … [l]iterally putting words into
Senator Allen's mouth that he did not say (by speculating, defining and
attributing meanings and motives that simply are not true). … [T]he
Webb campaign and the news media seeming [sic] worked hand-in-hand to
create national news over something that did not warrant coverage in the
first place. … Will the Washington Post hold it's [sic] candidate
for the U.S. Senate [Webb] to the same standard?” [Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee;
8/19/06]

From Allen's August 22
appearance on ABC Radio Networks' The
Sean Hannity Show: “I take full responsibility. I'm not
offering any excuses because I said it [macaca], and no one else said it
… It's a mistake. I apologize, and from my heart, I'm very, very
sorry for it.” [The Washington Post; 8/24/06]

Allen “realized how much
he offended [Sidarth] from the comments [Sidarth] made in the
media,” telling Sidarth he
is “sorry he offended” him, and that his apology
was “from his heart.” [The Washington Post; 8/24/06]

From Wadhams' interview:
“It's great to have the president [Bush] in Virginia, raising
substantial amounts of money so we can fight off the scurrilous attacks by
our opponent [Webb] and his leftist allies. … I think the [August
19] memo [blaming the media for “putting words into Senator
Allen's mouth”] speaks for itself.” [The Washington
Post; 8/24/06]

“Allen said he made the
name up, then said he recalled that he had a niece nicknamed 'Maca
Maca.' ”
[Los
Angeles Times;
8/24/06]