Former RNC Chairman and VA governor Jim Gilmore came out swinging on Fox and Friends, this morning.
As National Journal’s Hotline reported, Gilmore told the Fox and Friends host:
"I have the track record and history that's going to make me believable to the American people. Look at the contrast between the other leading candidates. John McCain ... has been bad on the Bush tax cuts and has been questionable on the issue of immigration. Mitt Romney ... in 1994, he said was not a Reagan Republican. And now, he seems to be shifting and his words evolving. Rudy Giuliani pretends to be a conservative."
Gilmore also spoke of his national security experience:
“I chaired the National Commission for the United States on Homeland Security for five years, including three years before the 9/11 attack. I know what this country needs, and that's to make this country secure and safe."
For all of you who think it’s too little, too late, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal recently made the point that it is still extremely early in the election cycle:
"In January 2003, an ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Sen. Joe Lieberman as the clear favorite for the nomination. He had 27% of likely primary votes, followed by Dick Gephardt with 14%, John Edwards with 11% and John Kerry with 10%. Howard Dean had 3%, less than half of Al Sharpton's support."
"… In January 2004, just days before the Iowa caucuses, a poll of 50 Democratic insiders by the National Journal found 43 of them believed Mr. Dean would be the nominee. Not one predicted that John Kerry would be their party's candidate in 2004."
With big league opponents like John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney, Jim Gilmore obviously is a dark horse. But I'm of the opinion that conservatives are still looking for a candidate who is willing to inspire them.
For this reason, Gilmore’s opponents should remember Yogi Berra’s maxim: "It’s ain’t over till it’s over."