Deval Says He Considered Not Seeking Reelection on WTKK

I think I speak for most of the people of the Commonwealth that we would have been a lot better off had he not run in the first place back in 2006.

Gov. Deval Patrick says he considered not seeking re-election next year because of the “wear and tear” he experienced the past three years.

He told listeners during his monthly appearance on WTKK-FM that he did not expect as much “hand-to-hand combat with my friends,” including fellow Democrats, labor leaders and other supporters of his 2006 election campaign. But he said he decided to run again because he feels he has more work to accomplish.

The governor said many people who supported his so-called change agenda have bristled when he has asked changes of them.

Aww… Poor baby. Imagine that… it is actually had to run a state than to campaign on empty promises. Who’d have thunk it?  Ironically, we are seeing the same thing happen with Barack Obama, whose presidential campaign was modeled after Deval’s. Obama is seeing himself fight people in his own party in order to push through an agenda the American people don’t support.

Patrick did not name names, but he also says he expects “fear” to be used against him as he seeks re-election.

He’s being challenged by Republicans Charles Baker and Christy Mihos, and state Treasurer Timothy Cahill, an independent.

Fear? That’s cute. Let’s me honest here. Deval Patrick knows that his chances of getting reelected are small. The cycle has already begun where Democrats across the country are announcing their retirement, or just deciding not to run for reelection. Sometimes, politicians find it better for their legacy to leave office on their own terms rather than lose an election. I am sure Deval has considered not running many times… and those times probably coincided with the release of a new poll showing his approval ratings getting worse, or election match-ups showing his defeat.

One thing we can take from this nugget of news is that Deval Patrick clearly wasn’t ready to be governor. The people of Massachusetts have slowly learned this, too. Deval Patrick campaigned as an outsider, but the problem is that he was an outsider without enough experience to help him handle the job.

Having an outsider as governor isn’t a bad thing. It worked for us when Mitt Romney was governor. Things were certainly better when he was in office. But an outsider should have adequate private sector experience that gives him the knowledge it takes to run a state. Deval Patrick didn’t have that. Your average small business owner has more applicable knowledge than someone with Deval’s experience.

Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.