Jim Gilmore For President!

Oops, I guess I'm too late. Does anybody remember Jim Gilmore? Republican, pasty white guy, Southern accent, dark suit, receding dark hair, ran for President this past year? No? I guess I need to be more specific.

Jim (you can't call a candidate by his full first name anymore) Gilmore served as the Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. He officially announced his candidacy for President in April 2007. Unfortunately, no one was paying attention at the time. A few days later, Gilmore participated in the first Republican Presidential debate for the 2008 election, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. That debate was watched by hundreds of people. Three months later, Gilmore became the first candidate to drop out of the race.

Here in California, no one I know has ever heard of Jim Gilmore. I must have a soft spot for Gilmore, because I lived in neighboring Maryland while Gilmore was the governor of Virginia. Sadly, Gilmore's website, Jim Gilmore for President '08, is still up, as proof that nothing on the Internet ever goes away. Even more sadly, its sister site, gilmoreforpresident.com, "has been temporarily suspended."

In the heat of this crazy primary season, as voters have finally started paying attention to a race that may be over at least in one party a mere two weeks from now, I propose that we drink a toast to Jim Gilmore, a man ahead of his time.