Spotlight isn't shining on Gilmore, but he still stands out

ST. PAUL, MINN.

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore spent several hours Tuesday doing the media dance, going from radio broadcasts to television tapings and back again, with impromptu newspaper interviews wedged in between.

After roughly two decades in public life, he knows the steps well.

Sometimes they are those of a graceful waltz, when Gilmore can take his time with an answer and stick to the script.

Other times the pace is that of a lively fox trot, requiring nimble retorts to pointed questions. An example of the latter is his quip to a radio host who wanted to know about an allegedly deepening rift between President Bush and the man who will be nominated to replace him, U.S. Sen. John McCain.

“No more than it’s ever been,” Gilmore fired back without missing a beat, drawing laughter from the interviewer.

Through it all, Gilmore is poised, ready to forcefully respond to those who wonder how he plans to win his race for the U.S. Senate, despite trailing in the polls and in fundraising behind Mark Warner, his Democratic opponent and another former Virginia governor.

“We’re going to win the election,” Gilmore says defiantly to a reporter who asks for a prediction, repeating those words for emphasis.

When not doing interviews – he willingly consents to most he is offered – Gil-more’s convention schedule is packed with appointments with GOP power brokers, policy people and potential donors.

His present stature in the party is not what it was eight years ago at the Republican convention in Philadelphia. But he is still a popular and recognized figure at this year’s gathering, frequently stopped by passersby who want to chat or snap a picture.

Gilmore, 58, gladly obliges, admitting that he relishes the “interaction with the party rank-and-file,” to whom he offers a hearty handshake or shoulder squeeze, piercing eye contact and rapt attention, if only for a brief moment.

At the 2000 convention in Philadelphia, Gilmore was treated like a conquering hero after delivering a needed presidential primary win for Bush over McCain in Virginia.

As thanks for the victory, Virginia’s GOP delegates received several perks at the convention that year, including accommodations at Bush’s hotel.

Amid fanfare, Gilmore escorted Bush into the hotel when the soon-to-be president arrived.

He also had a speaking slot at the convention and was further repaid by being named one of three national co-chairmen of Bush’s presidential campaign. After Bush was elected, Gilmore was named Republican National Committee chairman.

This year, Gilmore is a state delegate and a candidate who is trying to raise money and support for his Senate bid. As of Tuesday, he was not listed as a scheduled convention speaker.

It is a stark contrast to the role Warner had at the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver, where he was chosen to deliver the keynote speech, and in so doing, got national exposure.

Gilmore prefers to focus on what he considers a negative effect of Warner’s high-profile turn.

By linking himself to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, Gilmore contends that Warner has shown himself to be a partisan, not the “Republican-lite” candidate he wants to be.

Warner, in turn, continues to paint Gil-more as an irresponsible leader whose economic policies left the state budget in disarray after the Republican left office.

Gilmore passed a balanced budget in December 2001, a month before he left office.

But Warner, his successor, and legislative leaders from both parties complained that Gilmore balanced the budget with gimmicks.

That budgeting philosophy, coupled with an economic downturn in the following months, left Virginia with a revenue shortfall, Warner said.

“Even the Republican leaders of the legislature looked at Gilmore’s budget and said enough is enough,” said Warner spokesman Kevin Hall about the mood in Richmond at the time.

The burden of proof to dispel such notions has often fallen on Gilmore, who vehemently rejects them.

About two years later in spring 2004, Warner persuaded the Republican-controlled legislature to pass a $1.4 billion tax increase to expand funding for core government services.

Pointing to the car-tax cuts enacted on his watch, Gilmore casts himself as a fiscal conservative and Warner as a tax-and-spend liberal as evidenced by the tax hike.

Gilmore, the son of a meat cutter who rose from a local prosecutor to state attorney general and governor, said his path to election success is to contrast his record and positions – chiefly his support for offshore drilling for oil and gas as a means to reduce gas prices – against his opponent’s.

Borrowing, or perhaps mocking, an Obama campaign theme, Gilmore said that increased domestic energy production through drilling and other methods must occur.

“That has to change,” he said. “It’s time for a change all right.”

Pilot reporter Warren Fiske contributed to this report.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com