New MA poll

I feel called-upon to comment on an article in today's Boston Globe, but up front I want to say that I have mixed feelings about it.

There's lots of bad news for Mitt Romney here, no question.

Although he insists he's focused on a 2006 re-election campaign for governor, Romney also is looking increasingly like a potential Republican presidential contender for 2008. And he has done little to quell speculation about a White House run.

The poll also found that 32 percent of those asked said he should be reelected governor if he runs in 2006, while 50 percent said someone else should be elected. Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, a Democrat, was favored over Romney 48 percent to 41 percent in a matchup for governor.

On the other hand, on the theory that if you're going to quote a poll you can't just pick out the good parts, this same poll found that by a margin of 57-34 MA residents did not want to see John Kerry run for president again in 2008. I don't personally put much stock in this at four months post-election. In fact, it irritates me that they are even asking such a question at this point in time. A large number of Bay Staters put a lot of heart, soul, and money into this past campaign, and are still metaphorically licking their wounds. I would also caution anyone who might be so inclined against reading too much into this. (Jerome Corsi, I'm looking your way.) No matter what anyone wants to think, Kerry remains even more beloved here than he was before his run. We're all just kind of exhausted right now.