A little news from Boston:

Do you think that Mitt Romney is just trying to use the Massachusetts governor's race as a steppingstone to some other position? I get the feeling somebody does.

Romney has already announced who he wants to be his lieutenant governor, a policy wonk named Kerry Healey. Her experience in practical politics is, shall we say, limited (two campaigns for state rep, losing both) but she's female and is thought to lend balance to the ticket. You could call her a Jane Swift to Romney's Paul Celluci (our last elected governor, presently doing time as Ambassador to Canada), --- but that wouldn't be fair to Swift, who did in fact win a seat in the legislature and was reasonably well-regarded there before rising to her level of incompetence in higher office.

But Jim Rappaport, a businessman and former chair of the state Republican party, keeps trying to force his way onto the ticket with, among other things, a series of prime-time TV ads touting the virtues of the "Romney/Rappaport" ticket, which somehow never get around to mentioning that Romney wants no part of it.

Now, it's possible that Rappaport just has a yen for public service --- in any office, no matter how inconsequential. But if he actually manages to displace Healey, the "Romney/Rappaport" ticket wins, and Romney serves out his full term, then Rappaport is clearly setting himself up for an engaging four years of solitaire and funeral attendance.

Unless Romney moves elsewhere, in which case Rappaport finds himself in full possession of the corner office.

Mind you, this is pure speculation, and I know of nothing to back it up --- but it's possible that Rappaport, with connections as a long-time Republican activist, knows something that I don't. Either that, or he's just being very, very foolish...

(There's plenty of silliness on the Democractic side, too --- but with the governor's slot up for grabs, they're at least fighting over a prize worth having. And for lack of any Republican opposition, Romney's web site is already taking pot shots at one of the Democratic front runners, state treasurer Shannon O'Brien --- a woman who's already gotten to state office and done something with it.)