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At this morning's event, I kept wishing I had the power to pull Gilmore aside for two full days and give him some media training and some "messaging" advice. Even when given multiple chances by a friendly audience to hit some home runs, to inspire, to put meat on his rhetorical bones, Gilmore clearly failed to do so. And it's a shame. I have made very clear my admiration for the former Virginia governor. He has a great resume and a record as a solid and effective conservative who wins elections. But his message in this race still lacks focus and lacks a defining issue. What baffles me is that he has shown in the past that he has the ability to REALLY focus on message and choose ONE defining issue. in fact, he gave the left fits when he ran for governor because they said he was such a Johnny-One-Note, always harping on the car tax. Well, it worked: Harping on the need to reduce Virginia's car taxes won him the election, and then he delivered on his promises. Why his message is not equally well honed for the presidential race is beyond me. But I wish him luck. He's a good man.

topics:
Taxes