Dammit Jim!

On the eve of the GOP Presidential Debate from Greenville, SC the Intertoobs are ablaze with the sad, sad news that former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore announced he was dropping out of the presidential race.

His hasty decision forced me to update my blog banner to include him with the rest of the also-rans.  Dammit Jim!  You're always making me do extra work!

The jokey hashtag #Gilmentum was a metaphor for his dismal showing in Iowa where he managed a pitiful 12 votes and effused a veritable landslide in New Hampshire.  After all the votes were counted, his total was 133 out of 285,000 votes cast.

Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee both collected more votes than Gilmore even though they dropped out of the race days before New Hampshirites went to the polls.

Gilmore participated in two “undercard” debates, but never graduated to the main stage. He saw the writing on the wall when he was the only remaining Republican candidate to be excluded from Saturday's debate.

The unlikeliest of the unlikely, Gilmore raised a paltry $90,000 for his presidential bid and loaned his campaign committee $124,000.

One story emanating from New Hampshire told of him wandering into a cigar bar in Manchester called Castro’s Back Room where he tried to chat up his candidacy while the patrons were watching the Super Bowl.  Twenty minutes later poor Jim walked out leaving the dozen or so people scratching their heads.  One guy said, “Ain’t that guy something?  He’s got no chance.  It’s like a kid who wants a sucker but his mom says ‘no’ 100 times and he still keeps asking.”

I remember (because I’m old) when Arnold Horshack, a “sweathog” from “Welcome Back Kotter” always jammed his arm into the air saying, “Oooh, Ooooh. Pick me.” He reminds me of Horshack.

Jim is heading back to his family who has never heard of him either.