Word on the street is the Lincoln Club of Orange County will officially endorse Governor Schwarzenegger later this evening at their annual dinner -- at which the Governor is speaking.
On one hand, this isn't really surprising -- Schwarzenegger is the incumbent Republican* governor and faces no conservative primary challenge. And after all, the Lincoln Club was founded in the wake of the acrimonious Richard Nixon-Joe Shell 1962 gubernatorial primary, in large part to avoid nasty primary battles that can harm the winner's chances in the general election.
That said, I have to imagine tonight's announcement is a major example of a hold-your-nose endorsement. The Arnold Schwarzenegger currently in the Governor's office bears little resemblance to the Arnold Schwarzenegger elected in the recall. I sometimes wonder if that Arnold was abducted after his defeat in the November special election and replaced with a pod-Arnold. The Lincoln Club is a conservative group, and my gut tells me many of their members, in the back of their minds, share my doubt that second-term Governor Schwarzenegger will be appreciably different than a first-term Governor Westly.
In any case, the beautiful Mrs. Jubal and I have been invited to attend the dinner, and I'm interested to hear what the Governor has to say that might put those doubts to rest.
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