Mr. Irrelevant

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Romney has indeed taken a hit over his veto of the emergency contraception bill: fully 60% of poll respondents disagree with him on that, 44% strongly. Romney's re-elect numbers are pathetic: 30% think he should be re-elected, while 51% think it's time for someone new.

Now, this poll has some strangely phrased questions that don't really address the real issues of 1. Whether he'd get re-elected should he drink the Bizarro Kool-aid and run, and 2. Whether people would want a Romney-like character as governor. For instance, what does one make of this:

The survey of 503 adults, completed last week, found that 41 percent said Romney has accomplished little as governor, posing a challenge if he tries to promote himself on the presidential trail as an effective chief executive and political leader. Only 16 percent said he has accomplished ''a lot" and another 34 percent think he has been blocked by the Legislature.

"Accomplishing a lot" is not the same as "accomplishing a lot of good." Those 34 percent who think he's been blocked by the legislature doubtless include both people who approve of and disapprove of his policies.

Regardless, I find it impossible to believe that Republican primary voters will get on board with a guy who has changed his positions on social issues like MA drivers change lanes, and has nothing to show for his four years except "I tried real hard but the Dems are meanies!" Noting Pataki's similar veto, it's interesting to see how much the anti-abortion absolutists have so thoroughly taken over the national GOP power structure. The GOP actually would have at least three credible pro-choice candidates in '08  (Giuliani, Romney, Pataki) if that was tolerated at all. But it's completely impossible to run for president without throwing these folks a bone. (This is nothing new.)

And let's be clear: this is emergency contraception, not late-term abortions. As far as political appeal is concern, the vetoes are only aimed to appeal to those who believe that life absolutely begins at conception.

Is it too much to ask for a governor that cares about where he lives, first and foremost? If it's not too much to ask, what do we want that governor to do?