Odds are Mitt Romney doesn’t much care what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinks about the Republican presidential nomination battle turning into a face-off between Romney and Jon Huntsman, the latest entrant in the GOP presidential-palooza. Life was good for Romney who sat, albeit unsteadily, atop the greased front-runner pole until Huntsman showed up. Our man Mitt came off as the most reasonable person in a crowded field of cringe-worthy candidates.
How much should Romney worry about Huntsman? There are plenty of areas where a Romney-Huntsman match-up is a draw. They are both wealthy, telegenic businessmen with attractive families. They suffer from some of the same negatives. Like Reid, the two would-be presidents are Mormons, a fact that still makes some Americans uneasy. They have unfortunate associations with President Obama. Mitt is the unwilling godfather of the president’s health care reforms; Huntsman served as Obama’s ambassador to China.
They are going to have a rough time on the average Joe front. During his get-to-know-me expedition in New Hampshire last week, Huntsman, who speaks Mandarin, encouraged one voter to have her children learn the language. Mitt recently made a stunning admission to some jobless folks in Florida that he’s also out of work.
At this stage of the game, there’s little doubt that Huntsman has bigger obstacles to overcome. Though Newt Gingrich is making life easy for him, Huntsman, who promises a campaign based on “civility,” has a lot of fighting left to do. That the Democrats are very, very afraid of Huntsman’s potential appeal to moderates and independents speaks volumes. He’s already been pegged as the Republicans’ Obama. Those facts might persuade Republican pragmatists, but they aren’t going to pass muster with ideology-obsessed conservatives and evangelicals who dominate the primary voting pack.
Huntsman also suffers from a lack of name recognition, but with Barack Obama in the White House and Scott Brown in the Senate, that’s nothing that a flotilla of savvy campaign operatives can’t overcome. They’d better get busy though: Some pundits are already consigning him to “oblivion.”
But Huntsman, unlike Romney, knows more than most about what makes Obama and his White House tick, which would make the former ambassador a formidable opponent—if he pulls off a miracle. Harry Reid should be careful what he wishes for.
–GABRIELLE GURLEY
BEACON HILL
The former director of a special education collaborative that Inspector General Greg Sullivan says gave Sal DiMasi accomplice Richard McDonough a no-show job is in further hot water with the IG. Sullivan now says John Barranco diverted $10 million away from special ed services to pay extravagant salaries to himself, a former girlfriend, and others and pay for a slew of questionable expenses.
Republican lawmakers push back on several gun control measures, including a proposal to mandate bullet microstamping. House Republicans also offer changes to the chamber’s ethics code.
State Rep. Dan Winslow tries a Groupon approach to political fundraising.
WBUR looks at how the climate for expanded gambling has changed over the last year.
The Globe says former state treasurer Tim Cahill was “directly involved” in the decision to launch a $1.65 million advertising campaign for the Lottery that was seen as helping his 2010 bid for governor.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Universal Hub has a wrap-up of a forum featuring six of the seven candidates for the four at-large seats on the Boston City Council and their responses to questions on a variety of issues, including busing, neighborhood schools, and making the city greener.
A Proposition 2-1/2 override fails in North Adams.
Boston police feud with their statie counterparts over jurisdiction along the South Boston waterfront.
Peabody’s mayor is in a tussle with the city council over whether he should be allowed to appoint people to positions that will extend beyond the his term.
Hundreds turn out in Lynn to speak in favor of keeping the Sixth Congressional District intact, the Gloucester Times reports.
The Cape Cod Times says the region needs to come to terms with poor housing conditions for foreign workers.
The Newton fire chief has been on sick leave for months and has no intention of returning before he retires in July, according to The Newton Tab
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
A Republican-led House panel is excoriating the ATF — and, in turn, the Obama administration — for what they say was an ill-conceived sting operation that allowed semi-automatic guns to be purchased and delivered to members of Mexican drug cartels.
There’s still no deal on the debt ceiling.
The National Labor Relations Board will compress its unionization vote timetable.
ELECTION 2012
Former senator, actor, and presidential candidate Fred Thompson bucks conventional GOP wisdom by saying the battle to win the White House is secondary to convincing America the need to shrink the unsustainable national debt is essential.
Mitt Romney’s rivals try poaching his 2008 donors.
The Newt Gingrich campaign (still a thing!) loses two more top staffers.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
On Greater Boston, two marketing experts talk about whether Nike crossed the line with a controversial display in its Newbury Street store that triggered an angry outburst from Mayor Thomas Menino.
The Lowell Sun talks to people affected by Chelmsford’s outsourcing of janitorial services to Aramark Education Services.
A state panel voted to support efforts to plan a $2 billion expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. WBUR’s Sacha Pfeiffer interviews Paul Guzzi, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, about the proposed expansion.
EDUCATION
Lawrence is one step closer to raising its dropout age to 18, reports the Eagle Tribune.
The Gloucester Times reports on a group’s effort to revoke state approval of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School.
A South Hadley teacher who spoke out about the bullying of Phoebe Prince faced harassment and bullying from administrators.
HEALTH CARE
The Globe reports on further evidence of just how bad things were at the Carney Hospital’s adolescent psychiatry unit when the Dorchester hospital’s new president, Bill Walczak, fired the entire staff of the unit.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Easton is trying to be the latest community on the net metering grid by sending out requests for bids to build a solar array on the site of a former landfill that could save the town $500,000 a year in electricity costs.
The Eagle Tribune reports that a New Hampshire company wants to build the U.S.’s first food-waste-to-electricity plant in Haverhill, but residents are concerned about the potential smell and traffic.
The Springfield Republican applauds Bay State lawmakers who are asking tough questions about John Bryson, President Obama’s pick to head the Commerce Department, and how he might view Massachusetts fishing interests.
Farmers are seeing a bumper crop of strawberries this year.
State officials turn out to celebrate Pittsfield’s installation of solar panels at its wastewater treatment plant. When completed, it will be the largest such solar plant in the state.
PUBLIC SERVICE
Two Norwell siblings, who started “Cell phones for soldiers” in 2004 when they were 12 and 13 years old, this week received the prestigious Jefferson Award for public service, whose previous recipients have included Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey, and Peyton Manning.
WILDLIFE
Perhaps there was no place to go in the woods: Taunton police are searching for a black bear reported wandering the city’s streets and state officials think it’s the same bear spotted in Attleboro.
