It should be a fun day today in Richmond for the Virginia GOP's 85-member central committee. No, it won't be "fun" for these guys (and yes, they're mostly guys) because they'll be at an event like this one. Actually, it won't really be "fun" at all for them, but it will be great fun for the rest of us to see what happens in the Great Primary vs. Convention Title Fight of 2007. That's right: in this corner, we've got Jim "No Car Tax" Gilmore, weighing in as a political heavyweight in the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV), although a political lightweight in the Virginia boxing federation as a whole. Many boxing analysts suspect that Gilmore is past his prime and that he may retire after 2008 or even 2007. In the other corner, we've got Tom "My Wife's About to Lose to Chap Petersen" Davis, another political heavyweight in the RPV, although relatively unknown in the Virginia boxing world at large and also looking a bit weak and shaky of late. Both fighters have had strong records in the ring -- although both looking weaker in recent months -- but less-than-stellar ones outside it (Gilmore drove the Virginia boxing commonwealth into a fiscal ditch; Davis has been scrutinized for his conduct outside the ring, including questionable favors to his second wife, Jeannemarie).
Today's prize fight will determine whether the RPV goes with a convention or a primary for its U.S. Senate nomination to take on the undisputed heavyweight champion of Virginia, Mark "Not John" Warner. Most boxing analysts believe that a convention would spell doom to Davis, who would strongly prefer to fight it out with Gilmore in a larger arena. If Gilmore wins the fight today for a convention, it would count as technical knockout victory for the former governor. A Davis victory for a primary, on the other hand, would most likely put Gilmore down for the count. With so much at stake, something tells me that neither of these aging fighters is going to be pulling his punches today. The question is, will the boxer who loses today throw in the towel, or come back to fight another day?
P.S. Both fighters reportedly will be wearing red trunks today -- bright red for Gilmore and pale red for Davis.