Who To Believe?

Via Cape Cod Works:

Bob Novak's Saturday column starts out with a revelation that Governor Romney may be planning to forego running for reelection in order to concentrate on his presidential ambitions. Rumors of this have been swirling in the Massachusetts media and political circles, however this is the first time we get any details of Romney's decision-making process. From the column

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a recent secret Washington meeting with national political operatives signaled he probably will forego seeking re-election in 2006 in order to pursue the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

Romney did not flatly reveal his future intentions, according to sources who were present. But he did say a presidential race would be difficult if he were concentrating on a 2006 campaign for governor and were still in that office in 2007-08.

Late last year, as you might remember, Romney said that he was "going to run again" and that his opponents should "plan on it."

So, who do I believe? The Douchebag of Liberty or the Fraud Governor? To be honest, I'm torn!

Seriously, though, if Romney is out, that changes the dynamic of the governor's race completely. On the Republican side, they'll have to scramble to come up with a candidate and try to avoid an expensive primary if more than one person is interest. Right now the most common names mentioned are Kerry Healey and Charlie Baker. White House chief of staff Andy Card has also been mentioned, but I doubt he'll run -- he doesn't want to, he hasn't lived in Massachusetts in years, he'd be moving from a position of power to a position of impotence and he's too close to Bush to win statewide office in Massachusetts. Baker would probably be the strongest GOP candidate, in my opinion, since Healey has failed to distinguish herself in her role as Lieutenant Governor.

On the Democratic side, a Romney opt-out could lure more potential challengers into the race -- particularly if no strong Republican emerges. For those already running, the rhetoric will have to shift from criticism of Romney's failures to policy ideas and plans for the future. Still, after a string of governors ditching Massachusetts for loftier goals, commitment to to the Bay State will probably be on the electorate's mind.