So will Deval Patrick have a tough reelection in 2010?

[liberalpragmatist]

His approval ratings are very poor right now. As a non-resident of Massachusetts, is this justified? What's he done to piss off so many people?

Also, is he in danger for reelection? Do the Republicans have any one who could beat him, because my impression is that the state Republican Party is very weak right now.

If the Republicans don't have a credible challenger, then is Patrick in any danger of losing in the primary? Who might challenge him?

[Rockholm]

1. Patrick will have a hard time, especially if taxes get raised.

I am a big supporter of his. He used to be a neighbor of mine. That said, if Charlie Baker runs as a republican against Patrick, Baker might win.

[polmaven]

2. Today's Globe says

Christy Mihos has said he will run again, but this time as a Republican....Now, why doesn't THAT surprise me?

[Rockholm]

3. Nothing Mihos does surprises me.

[pipi_k]

4. Results...

I think that if the economy starts to get a little better here as a result of tax increases (or just for no reason whatsoever) then he might do OK in 2010.

If things don't turn around, he could be in for a rough ride.

[JayMusgrove]

5. Treasurer Tim Cahill wants to be Governor.

Do you think Patrick might bow out after just 4 years and go work in DC for Obama?

[polmaven]

7. Rumor now is

that he may be on the short list for SCOTUS.

[JayMusgrove]

8. That would be a great place for him...a great way out, but

But I think he's not going to get this one. I think it's GOT TO BE A WOMAN!

[polmaven]

9. I agree if should be a woman,

but he would be the second choice, I think....

[bluescribbler]

6. He has been disappointing in some respects

The Cadillac and the Drapes didn't help his image, but I considered those issues to be minor. Still, some voters believe to this day that the state paid for the drapes and the Caddy, which is not true. Patrick paid for them with his own money.

Lobbying Bob Rubin at Citibank on behalf of his former employers at Ameriquest was more problematic. Citibank does some business with the state, and this lobbying could be interpreted by some as attempting strong arm tactics. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this and call it a lapse in judgment, but others aren't so charitable.

He has also had difficulties dealing with the Legislature. The Speaker and the Senate President wield a lot of power in their respective chambers, and their agendas are different than his.

My main complaint with him is that he seems to have forgotten how he got there. In his election campaign, he built the largest grassroots movement in the history of the state. The Boston Globe cited that in its endorsement of him, saying that the grassroots organization should help him to govern more effectively. But he hasn't made effective use of that. Witness the recent budget debate in the House. When he learned that the Speaker was looking to raise the sales tax, rather than the gasoline tax, (which Patrick felt was the better option), he wrote a letter to the House and Senate promising to veto that bill, but didn't call on his supporters to call or write against that measure. A few hundred calls might have made a difference to some reps.

I still plan to support him next year, but I don't know how many others feel the same way.