100,000!

When I started this little exercise just shy of four years ago, I was writing for myself.

But as with all bloggers, ego entered into it. About three or four months later, I learned about Statcounter and began the urge to speak to someone other than myself. I guess I succeeded.

Today brings with it the 100,000th hit. Chump change for many, particularly bloggers like Dan Kennedy at Media Nation, Jay Fitzgerald at Hub Blog and the folks at Blue Mass Group who are kind enough to link to my rants. And especially for Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub who probably counts, indirectly, for up to half those hits.

Ultimately, thanks to all of you who stop by, agree with me when I'm right (which of course is all the time, it's my blog!) and offer suggestions when you think I'm wrong.

Please keep coming and as the boys from Bartles and Jaymes once said "Thank You for Your Support."

Same old song and dance

Massachusetts Republicans are giddy with excitement over Charlie Baker's decision to take the plunge for governor in 2010. And they should be.

But any thought of effecting any real change is just a thought unless and until the party does what it has either refused or failed to do for a generation -- build from the ground up.

The saga of Deval Patrick and the Legislature should make abundantly clear that true power in the Commonwealth presides in the Great and General Court. And with the track record of the last three speakers it proves Lord Acton correct:

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

Not that Charlie, Tommy and Sal are bad men, just that they got carried away with their authority.

Let us also not forget that the dynamic today is not all that far-removed from that of the 16 years between 1990 and 2006, when Republicans named Weld, Cellucci, Swift and Romney called the Corner Office home (at least part-time).

And we could probably take a good guess that what gave them wanderlust was their inability to take a chunk out of the Democratic stranglehold in the Legislature. Not, of course, that they or the state party ever tried.

As someone who covered the Statehouse during the late '80s and 1990, I can tell you with great assurance the mood today is not similar. It was venomous then -- fury at Michael Dukakis for embarrassing Massachusetts in the 1988 presidential election and a state economy that was far worse than the national one.

Today, the embarrassing governor is the last ex, the one who used Massachusetts as the butt of his jokes. And there is no doubt that Massachusetts is in the same hole as everyone else. In fact, a little better off because our leaders actually managed to get a budget in on time and have avoided the nightmare that is California (you know, the one with the Republican governor?)

What is the same is the imbalance in D and R numbers in the Legislature. The fury of 1990 prompted enough candidates to run for legislative seats that Weld actually got enough Senate votes to sustain vetoes. Today, the Gang of Five can't even call for a quorum.

Does anyone realistically think that Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray will change should Baker or even Tim Cahill get the keys to the Corner Office?

So while I don't want to dampen the spirit of Massachusetts Republicans, who have a candidates who has the potential to win over Democrats and independents, I do think they need a dash of cold water.

Recruit strong candidates to win legislative seats or nothing is going to change. And that will inevitably include the next Republican governor throwing up his or her hands in frustration and walking away.

Just call this some friendly advice from a stranger.

It's all downhill from here

Memo to Charlie Baker: It doesn't get better than this. Enjoy it while you can.

Get Danny off the MTA...

MBTA commuters are about to get stuck. Hard. But in exchange for forking over more cash for the same crummy service (and avoiding the threat of even worse service) riders need to demand one major concession in return.

Smilin' Dan Grabauskas has got to go.

After all, the entire Turnpike Authority is heading out to pasture as part of the deal to avoid a massive toll increase. Shouldn't T riders expect some similar quid pro quo in exchange for higher costs? What about the concept of accountability?

Grabauskas inherited a mess -- and he has contributed to an even bigger ones. Schedules are a sometimes thing, whether for buses and trains or subway station renovations (when exactly will Kenmore be finished?)

And while the T, like the soon-to-be-late and unlamented Pike Authority, was saddled with debt by a Legislature that has excelled in putting problems off until tomorrow, Grabauskas has excelled in doing little to nothing to advocate for riders.

And the same charge can be hurled at Transportation Secretary James Aloisi (ditching him might not be a bad idea either, but Danny has been around a lot longer.)

Let's face it -- no one lobbied as hard for T commuters as for Pike users (and I agree the proposed hikes were ludicrous.) Instead, Smilin' Dan held a gun to his riders head -- saying pay more or I cut out night and weekend service.

Legislators like House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Wagner of Chicopee had no concept of the T's importance in the scheme of things. Their outright refusal to consider a gasoline tax -- which would have provided bailouts for both Pike drivers and T riders -- shows a total lack of effective advocacy for riders.

And to make matters worse, the $160 million in relief that Grabauskas sought and won from lawmakers was clearly not enough to get the job done.

So, while riders will be shelling out even more for lousy service they have one last arrow in their quiver: Let's get Danny off the MTA.

Now it gets interesting

First things first: Charlie Baker is not Tim Cahill. Or Mitt Romney. He is a serious policy wonk who knows his way around two of the toughest portfolios in state government -- administration and finance and health and human services. He presided over the turnaround of a major health insurer.

But while the Massachusetts Republican Party has good reason to rejoice over Baker's decision to throw his hat into the 2010 governor's race, they shouldn't be getting ready to measure the drapes and select a new official gubernatorial chariot just yet.

While Deval Patrick has presided over the state during the most serious financial downturn in recent history, it's not his doing. He can make a legitimate claim that the fiscal house collapsed thanks to the mistakes made at the federal level under a Republican president.

And he can -- as he already has started to do -- pin the tail on the donkeys who run the Massachusetts Legislature for not reacting more quickly and efficiently to meet the challenges.

But most importantly, Patrick has, after taking serious lumps, learned how to play the political game. That is something Baker is the first to admit is not his strong suit. It will require a steep learning curve.

He is also not getting an immediate mano-a-mano showdown. He may face a GOP primary with Christy Mihos -- something that may actually help toughen him up. But when he emerges on top in the primary, he would have a short sprint to the finish in a three-person race.

And as long as Soon-to-be-UnTreasurer Tim stays in the hunt -- as a fiscally conservative, socially liberal candidate, much like Baker -- it means that Patrick needs only 34 percent to win-re-election.

Plus, while Baker can truly claim deep knowledge about health care and fiscal policy, he is not a wizard. He cannot singlehandedly turnaround a state that has been brought to its knees by a federal disaster. Rest assured Patrick will remind voters of that.

Let us also not forget that Baker has been an insurance executive for the last decade. That's almost as popular a job as an elected official.

And in our rush to bury Deval, we ignore at our own risk the reality: Patrick issued an ultimatum to the Legislature: pass ethics, pension and transportation reform or I croak the sales tax you guys proposed without considering other options.

And when all is said and done it was the Legislature, not Patrick, who blinked.

So 2010 just got a lot more entertaining for political junkies. There are two serious candidates (and a spoiler) for governor. Let the games begin!

The view from the tank

Wait, there's a message coming in on my secret Doug Rubin decoder ring -- "lob a grenade at Tim Cahill."

Treasurer Tim is gearing up for his not-yet decided run for governor in a chat with the Herald's Hillary Chabot -- and his message is the upcoming battle that he hasn't decided on yet is a personal crusade being led by Doug Rubin, who helped him into the treasurer's office before signing on with Deval Patrick.

Rubin has “already thrown many grenades,” he said. “It’s part of the business. It’s not nice when the people you were in the trenches with start throwing things at you, but it’s part of the business.”

Time for a disclosure: I was in the same room once with Doug Rubin. He would not know me from Adam. I believe I am a member of the same party Cahill soon plans to join: Unenrolled.

Yet Cahill believes those who are lining up against him are in the tank with Patrick and the Democratic Party.

The only thing that is in the tank is the Massachusetts economy. And I haven't really heard anything constructive from the Treasurer and Receiver General of the Commonwealth, the independently elected person charged with keeping the books, offer a serious plan to deal with that reality.

Oh sure, he's against taxes and thinks health care may be too costly. So what's his alternative to filling a $3.2 billion revenue gap caused by an imploding national economy?

Cahill came into statewide office on the basis of name confusion and a slogan thought up by his daughter. There hasn't been a heck of a lot of substance since. A lot of posturing, yes. But substance. Un-uh.

To now claim infer that the only thing standing between him and the office for which he hasn't decided to run is the state party apparatus is laughable.

Did I get that right Doug? If not, I may need a new secret decoder ring.

Truth -- or consequences

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

That's the essence of the message Massachusetts Democrats are offering Treasurer Tim Cahill as he promises to change his party affiliation -- but insists he may run for re-election and not governor.

The potential field for treasurer is growing -- with Democratic honcho and one-time gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman tossing his hat into the ring for the job Cahill holds. The one-time state and national party chief may not be the most formidable candidate, but the symbolism is impressive.

A host of other Democrats eager for a rare vacancy in a statewide office are also being mentioned for the job.

Cahill was too coy by half in suggesting he only wants to express his Independence as a fiscally conservative Democrat -- but not forsaking his current job.

The Quincy pol has lusted for the top job and knows that it's up or out time. He would lead you to believe the fact he probably could not get the 15 percent needed to win a spot on the Democratic primary for governor at a convention controlled by Deval Patrick has nothing to do with it.

An independent bid by Cahill would only strengthen the incumbent's chance in a three-person race that could include Christy Mihos or Charlie Baker as the Republican. After all, he only needs 34 percent. So Patrick is alternating between neutral to feisty, telling the Statehouse News Service:

"If he’s going to be a candidate, then fine. We’ll talk about all that during the course of the campaign. He should bring his A game.”

If Cahill's support is deeper than his record, Patrick would have something to worry about. Count me a skeptic right now.

Treasurer Tim has a lean and hungry look

Yond Treasurer Tim has a lean and hungry look.

Julius Caesar may have been talking about Cassius, but the phrase applies equally to Tim Cahill, who may also be considering the political equivalent of what Cassius had in store for the emperor -- assassination, with Deval Patrick playing the role of victim.

But like Cassius, Cahill "thinks too much; such men are dangerous." Why? Because he can't even come up with a straight-faced reason for his decision to switch from Democrat to unenrolled -- the first step to a Patrick challenge. As Cahill advisers told the Globe:

... the move doesn't necessarily mean he will run against the sitting governor; he has told them he will either campaign for governor or treasurer as an independent candidate.

Why, pray tell, would a two-term sitting treasurer, elected as a Democrat, switch parties to run for re-election?

Like Cassius, Cahill appears motivated by political ambition. In the process he has proven himself transparent. And while a government that is transparent is a good thing, a politician who lets his ambition shine through is not.

Sheed!

OK, I admit. Rasheed Wallace has always been one of those NBA players you love to hate. The scowl. The whine. The technicals. Oh the T's!

So what can you say about word the Celtics have apparently convinced Wallace to come aboard for two years at, for NBA standards, short money?

I believe Marv Albert said it best: YES!

After a gritty 2009 run that was doomed by Kevin Garnett's knee, the Celtics had seemingly dropped off the contenders list. The Cavaliers snagged Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers are going to add Ron Artest (now that's a temper you can dislike even more!).

What's worse, the talk was drifting negative: is Rajon Rondo a liability? No, he's a competitive kid who has seen his career blossom. Does he need a little more maturity? Perhaps. A problem? Give me a break.

We all knew the initial window for a return to glory (and No. 17) was narrow. The new Big Three took care of that in short order and produced another 60-plus win season (albeit after raising thoughts about a 70-win schedule) before Garnett's knee betrayed him. I have firmly believed the Celtics already improved themselves next year with a healthy No. 5 back in action.

Bringing Wallace aboard means the Celtics are firmly committed to avoiding the dark days when the Original Big Three aged in place. Grant Hill would be a nice addition too.

But what is needed in tandem with retaining complimentary pieces like Eddie House and signing new ones like Wallace is a commitment to the future. To that end, re-signing Rondo and Big Baby is a must.

For those of us getting longer in the tooth, Wallace is the best Detroit import since a towel-waver by the name of Michael Leon Carr. With a healthy Garnett back under the basket, the Celtics will remain among the elite as the contend for No. 18.

And with Wallace, Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, they will also contend for the team with the most technicals. Hope Steve Pagliuci has some cash around after buying the Globe to help the guys out with the fines.

Ca$h-$pangled 4th

Is it just me, or was the televised version of the Boston 4th of July celebration just one large commercial?

It wasn't just the "live" show opening with the final minutes of the 1812 Overture, taped a good 10 minutes earlier. And it wasn't just the pre-packaged segment of one Craig Ferguson joke followed by one Neil Diamond song followed by about five endless minutes of advertising.

In some ways that was an improvement over when WBZ-TV killed time up to the 10 p.m. network join by interviewing their weather man.

The Esplanade is an experience everyone should have at least once. We actually went twice and were cured. The first year, a bench supposedly anchored along the Esplanade toppled when we got up and hit Mrs. OL in the ankle. She saw fireworks all right, not the same ones I did of course.

Year Two was the Bicentennial -- you know the year that Jack Williams said did not produce a turnout as large as the one last night that varied from a half-million to one million people over the course of the broadcast. Standing in the middle of the closed Storrow Drive, dodging the fireworks launched by the idiot nearby, was the ultimate cure.

So we've opted for other ways. There are some great fireworks viewing points in Brookline, but lately we've opted for the TV version. And it was terrific -- until organizer Stephen Mugar, looking for extra cash to finance the extravaganza -- sold the rights to CBS several years ago.

I can't blame the guy for trying to make a few extra bucks to defray the cost of the spectacular he gave birth to and has supported. But there should have been some quality controls.

Like not pretending to join the 1812 in progress. And I could swear the fireworks were joined in progress and were on a slight time delay (longer than the normal explanation of physics that says light travels faster than sound).

And not running five-plus minutes of commercials every 10 minutes.

Where's Sarah?

Is the governor of Alaska hiking the Appalachian Trail?

Maybe we should buy all elected officials GPS units that we can implant under the skin in their neck in case they get lost?

Does this include the B Line too?

One thing about Smilin' Dan Grabauskas -- he knows the T and "hassle factor" go hand-in-hand.

Not that I have a problem with the T cracking down on fare scofflaws. I just wish it were uniform. Like outbound on the Green Line, particularly on Comm. Ave?

Lot of cash is slipping through those open doors Danny Boy.

Sarah, we knew ye too well...

At this rate, Mitt Romney will get the 2012 Republican nomination by default.

Sarah Palin added another line to her political resume yesterday. In addition to mayor, governor and vice presidential candidate, she can now add quitter to the litany, walking away from an unfinished job in the middle of a term.

After a news conference that conjured up images of Richard Nixon (and a little Mark Sanford) Palin announced she was resigning at the end of the month, a little more than halfway through her term.

Taking the advice of Harry Truman, Palin decided she couldn't stand the heat and got out of the kitchen. The buck will soon stop with Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.

The trajectory of this shooting star is stunning: from unknown small state governor, to white hot media star, untested No. 2 candidate, center of political firestorm and back to unknown small state governor (and mother) in less than one year.

Palin has loudly complained of her treatment by the GOP elite and the media, while simply forgetting the fact she agreed to be sucked into the limelight -- and the price that decision carries. The debates whether she was the manipulator or the manipulatee will continue after she leaves Juneau (or is that Juno?).

The punditocracy is awash this July 4th with "will she, won't she" speculation. The Vanity Fair piece that hasn't plunked in my mailbox yet, sounds savage -- but let's not forget the worst barbs come from within her own party.

And the Palin faithful are surely the segment of the party the GOP has to push out of the driver's seat if it hopes to escape the fate of the Whigs.

I suspect the ultimate verdict may also rest in a comparison to Our Man Myth. While he also quit in the middle of his term, he didn't give up the office. He had the face-saving ability to say he completed everything he started.

Palin walked away before the end of her term because the going, largely of her own making, got too tough.

Not exactly a strong credential for a would-be Leader of the Free World.