More on Jim Gilmore's plan to run for President

Today's Richmond Times Dispatch has an extensive write up on Jim Gilmore's Presidential bid, which he announced Tuesday night. The RTD spoke with many prominent politicians from around the state:

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Gilmore ally and possible 2009 gubernatorial candidate, said some will try to portray Gilmore as needlessly confrontational, when he was merely standing by his convictions.

"He promised to eliminate the car tax, which he did, and he didn't back down," Bolling said.

Sorry, but Virginians aren't that stupid, everyone knows that the car tax still exist, because the phase out was halted after it nearly wrecked the state's finances.

State Senator Russ Potts (R) also weighed in on Gilmore's Presidential bid:

Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., R-Winchester, who backed the car-tax rollback but now faults it for imperiling the state's finances several years ago, said Gilmore could become an albatross for Republicans in Senate and House elections, particularly in increasingly Democratic Northern Virginia.

"Unless you are in the minority of minorities, how many people are going to ask Gilmore to campaign for them?" Potts said.

Gilmore insisted that he's not using the Presidential race as a spring board back into Virginia politics, but the RTD said his aides quietly told them that Gilmore hasn't ruled out another run for Governor in three years either.

Members of Virginia's General Assembly expressed concern about Gilmore for President too. The RTD reported that G.A. Democrats and moderate Republicans said Gilmore was a "divisive partisan who ran roughshod over legislators, particularly regarding car-tax relief." We all know how that turned out too, don't we.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran said:

"Speaking as a Democrat, I would welcome his candidacy. Speaking as an American, he is not the right candidate for the times. We need a unifier, someone who will bring the country together."

Regardless, I don't think many believe Gilmore will go very far in his bid. He is expected to launch his Exploratory Committee on January 2, 2007, and officially decide whether or not he will move forward shortly thereafter.