MONTGOMERY &8212; It was a predictable rumor because his polling numbers are so bad, but former Chief Justice Roy Moore has made it clear that he has no intention of dropping out of the GOP gubernatorial primary and running as an independent in the General Election in November.

&8220;I am a Republican and I intend to become the next Republican governor of Alabama,&8221; Moore said.

Recent polls have shown Moore badly trailing Gov. Bob Riley, in fact one poll showed Riley leading by a 2-to-1 margin.

In the same breath Moore also sought to squelch yet another rumor-that he might give up his bid for governor and run for his old job as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

After trying to put an end to all the rumors, Moore then launched an attack on Gov. Riley, who he accused of abandoning the principles of the Republican Party.

On another front, Moore was trying to clean up a mess he made during a question-and-answer session at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Oneonta.

The question asked of him was mindful of the old &8220;are you still beating your wife&8221; question. Specifically he was asked if he felt the people of Alabama &8220;had enough sense&8221; to elect representative delegates to a Constitutional Convention.

Without batting an eye, Moore replied &8220;no.&8221;

Needless to say his response provoked howls of indignation from some quarters.

Later Moore sought to explain his position, which in fact is a valid one. He said delegates to such a convention would be a mirror image of the Alabama Legislature … a body dominated by candidates supported by special interests, most especially the Alabama Education Association.

One of the greatest of modern inventions is &8220;Caller ID&8221; on your phone.

If somebody calls that you don&8217;t want to talk to you just don&8217;t pick up the phone.

The name on my Caller ID a few days ago was Hilbun Adams, and he will never know how close I came not to picking up the phone. I figured he was some telemarketer.

But I did pick up the phone and I found out who Hilbun Adams is. He is an interesting (albeit talkative) cabinetmaker in Birmingham who wants to be lieutenant governor of Alabama. He has qualified to run in the GOP Primary.

Adams may be unknown and he admittedly has no campaign war chest, but there is one paragraph on his resume which none of his better-known and better-financed GOP opponents can match.

Adams is a combat veteran &8212; he moved to Israel a number of years ago, converted to Judaism, became a citizen, joined the Israeli Army and saw combat in the war with Lebanon. He knows what it is like to get shot at and to shoot at others.

That experience might be helpful in presiding over the State Senate.

Bob Ingram has covered Alabama politics for more than 50 years.

John Amari of Trussville, who served 20 years in the Alabama Legislature before losing a bid for lieutenant governor in 1998, has decided he would like to return to the political arena.

Amari has announced he will seek the Republican nomination for the seat on the Alabama Public Service Commission, which is being vacated by George C. Wallace, an announced candidate for lieutenant governor.

Amari will face another former legislator in the race … Perry Hooper Jr. of Montgomery, the son of the former chief justice.

In another political development last week, Mobile District Attorney John Tyson Jr. kicked off his campaign for Attorney General in the Democratic Primary.

Tyson is no neophyte to the arena … he was elected to four terms on the State Board of Education. Like Hooper, he too is a second-generation officeholder – his father, John Tyson Jr., was a highly respected state senator from Mobile several decades ago.

Bob Ingram has covered Alabama politics for more than 50 years