Today, I had the privilege of attending a Riverside Lincoln Club luncheon introducing Governor Mitt Romney to the Inland Empire at the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside.

It was great to see Mr. Romney in person and hear him speak for the first time.  He is a very eloquent speaker and I believe his private sector background is going to be very appealing to many voters, especially fiscally minded conservatives.  It is precisely why I find him the most appealing of the "Big Three" GOP candidates.

I believe that Romney possesses the experience, intellect and acumen needed to guide our nation through its adjustment to the rising Asian economic powers.

With that said, I remain uncommitted to any particular candidate.

It was interesting to note that Romney took three questions from the audience.  The first question was about illegal immigration. The second question was about partial birth abortion and the Supreme Court and the final question entailed a discussion on Romney's health care reforms while Governor.

Although Romney sounds good on illegal immigration, the devil is in the details and I am anxious to discuss the matter in more depth with his campaign at some point in the near future.

Assemblyman Russ Bogh and candidate for the 37th Senate District MC'ed the event.  Former Senator/Assemblyman Ray Haynes officially announced his endorsement of Romney.

Many local electeds and candidates were present, though none from San Bernardino County, as far as I could tell.  Corona Councilman Jeff Miller and AD 71 candidate, Hemet Councilman Eric McBride, Riverside Councilman Art Gage, Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley and Angel Sanchez, AD 64 contender, were also present.  Please note that I do not wish to imply any endorsements by those listed above and simply am disclosing their attendance at the event. 

With the extremely compressed election schedule this year and truncated campaign season, it really puts the second tier candidates behind the eight ball and gives Giuliani, Romney and the fading McCain an incredible advantage.

Duncan Hunter appears to be the most likely of the second tier to move up...but that is a long shot.  Although Fred Thompson stalks the scene, he must act soon, otherwise he may have too much ground to make up come time for the stretch run.