Let’s get this out of the way at the outset: Tim Murtaugh and I agree on little when it comes to politics, particularly his most famous boss: Donald Trump.
I’ve known Tim for three decades. Early on, he was a member of the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association by virtue of his job as Richmond correspondent for Charlottesville’s NBC affiliate, WVIR-TV.
Then he hopped the fence into Republican Party politics, serving a variety of roles with candidates and GOP organizations in Virginia and beyond. We came into each other’s orbits most closely when he was the chief spokesman for George Allen’s successful 2000 U.S. Senate campaign. We would intersect frequently in his spokesman roles with Jerry Kilgore’s attorney general office and Kilgore’s unsuccessful gubernatorial bid. Tim’s sharp mind made him one of the best at what he did when he was on his game. And by “on his game,” I mean …