Friday, July 14, 2006
‘They did it on the cheap’
Don't you get the impression Mitt is now fighting for his presidential-wannabe life? He finally has control over parts of the Big Dig -- and he may try to spin this in campaign commercials as another Salt Lake City take-charge moment. But it's not going to work. The Big Dig is now a national joke. Mitt's going to get hammered for it by rivals in debates and in commercials, whether he deserves it or not. Can't you picture a future GOP or Dem rival, ala George Bush's bold 1988 Boston Harbor gambit, coming to Boston and posing for shots outside the mouth of a Big Dig tunnel? ... Personally, I think the most biting criticism you can aim at Mitt is that he was too busy rushing around the country while the Big Dig crumbled. He could have and should have been more aggressive in taking down the Big Dig status quo. He was an absentee governor -- and now it's come back to bite him. But make one thing clear: He was not in control of the Big Dig over past years. Have I missed something? Hasn't he been fighting for control over the Big Dig and Turnpike and hasn't a certain legislative institution resisted? ... This much is true: This can't help Kerry Healey. Nor Tom Reilly. There's a clear and growing throw-the-rascals-out sentiment out there, which can only benefit Deval, Christy and Chris.
Don't you get the impression Mitt is now fighting for his presidential-wannabe life? He finally has control over parts of the Big Dig -- and he may try to spin this in campaign commercials as another Salt Lake City take-charge moment. But it's not going to work. The Big Dig is now a national joke. Mitt's going to get hammered for it by rivals in debates and in commercials, whether he deserves it or not. Can't you picture a future GOP or Dem rival, ala George Bush's bold 1988 Boston Harbor gambit, coming to Boston and posing for shots outside the mouth of a Big Dig tunnel? ... Personally, I think the most biting criticism you can aim at Mitt is that he was too busy rushing around the country while the Big Dig crumbled. He could have and should have been more aggressive in taking down the Big Dig status quo. He was an absentee governor -- and now it's come back to bite him. But make one thing clear: He was not in control of the Big Dig over past years. Have I missed something? Hasn't he been fighting for control over the Big Dig and Turnpike and hasn't a certain legislative institution resisted? ... This much is true: This can't help Kerry Healey. Nor Tom Reilly. There's a clear and growing throw-the-rascals-out sentiment out there, which can only benefit Deval, Christy and Chris.
