One reason Gilmore took so long — all his time before and through the bell — prefacing his call to not scapegoat Muslims with a condemnation of radical Islam: Many Americans have negative views of Muslims. An ABC News/Washington Post poll last month found that 28 percent of Americans think mainstream Islam encourages violence, double the proportion in January 2002. And 14 percent in the poll last month said Muslims experience discrimination that is justified.
Ritchie King
Anne Li
Jim Gilmore mentioned early on in the debate that he’s the only one in the race with military service. That’s smart: According to the Pew Research Center, a candidate with military experience is more appealing to Republicans than he or she is for Democrats. Veterans are no strangers to the White House. Veterans Affairs has recorded that 26 out of 44 U.S. presidents served in the military, the most recent president to have served being George W. Bush, who was in the Air Force reserve during the Vietnam War.
