E-Mail This Article to a Friend We need a governor Plus, how you can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina

A year ago, around the time Mitt Romney began to kiss the scaly backside of the right-wing Republican beast in hopes of boosting his chances as a presidential hopeful, it looked like he’d win reelection as governor with a shake of the devil’s tail.

Today, he’d have a fight on his hands. It’s doubtful, but not definite, that the Mormonator will make the run. His recent prediction that he’d win in a "landslide" may not have the wit of a Schwarzenegger wisecrack, but it seems to have created enough distraction to buy him more psychic space in which to make up his mind about the White House.

That makes the news that Harvard-Pilgrim CEO Charlie Baker won’t run a real disappointment. Baker, a former top official in the Weld and Cellucci administrations, would have brought some real heft to the Republican contest.

And it makes Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, a Mary Tyler Moore–style politician who is long on ambition and short on experience, the Republican front-runner. Healey, of course, has more than spunk going for her. Her millionaire husband recently sold about $13 million worth of stock in his company, reminding would-be challengers that she has the means, at least in theory, to bankroll her own campaign.

There is also talk that another wealthy dilettante, James Rappaport, scion of a real estate mogul, is considering a run. Although he more recently ran for lieutenant governor, Rappaport's best-known foray into politics was his unsuccessful run against Senator John Kerry, which is largely remembered for its pervasive tone of nastiness and negativity.

This should be good news for the Democrats. But so far, its candidates have failed to excite.

The putative front-runner, Attorney General Thomas Reilly leaves even many stalwart Democrats cold. He has a Kerry-esque penchant for overly nuanced, confusing positions on gay marriage and the death penalty, suggesting to many that he has no core beliefs beyond his own ambition. (His decision, due by September 7, on whether an anti-gay-marriage referendum can move forward will be a telling sign.) That impression is fortified by his grandstanding on issues ranging from the Catholic Church abuse scandals to the Red Sox. He looks a bit like an undertaker when he speaks, but seems — judging from his state Democratic convention performance — to be getting marginally better.

Former Clinton-administration official Deval Patrick is the favorite of the progressive left. He’s charismatic and very smart, but is spending too much of his limited campaign money too quickly. His possible Achilles’ heel: his history as a well-compensated corporate lawyer and consequent inability to play the economic populist on corporate matters. This could be a serious problem if Secretary of State William Galvin gets into the race.

Galvin’s speech at the state convention was underwhelming; if anything, he made Reilly look like Jesse Jackson. But he’s been using his job adroitly of late — repeatedly hammering Procter & Gamble on the Gillette acquisition, to cite just one example. What’s more, he used to have a reputation as the Archdiocese’s man in the legislature, but he’s joined the rapidly growing ranks of Catholic politicians who are more than willing to stick it to O’Malley & Co. It’s unclear, however, if he’ll actually run.

There are some wild cards: Congressmen Stephen Lynch or Michael Capuano could run. There’s still four months for them — or for some other Democrat — to size up the field and conclude that they’re better than Reilly or Patrick. This seems slightly more likely now than it did before, with Healey fast becoming the only viable Republican candidate.

The candidates seem to be in place. What Massachusetts needs now are ideas to spark the state out of its Romney-induced torpor.

HURRICANE RELIEF

The devastation wreaked on the Gulf Coast is a somber reminder that humans merely inhabit the planet, nature rules it. New Orleans will be uninhabitable for weeks to come. Hundreds of thousands are refugees in their own backyards and tens of thousands are homeless. The risk of a cholera epidemic hangs in the air, making the tragedy seem unimaginably more desperate.

We urge anyone who can to make a donation. Experts say that cash, rather than goods, is what is really needed.

As with any major disaster, organizations are looking for help from everyone. And as with any major disaster, there are people looking to take advantage of those wanting to help. Bottom line, look into every organization you want to give money to, and don’t give money to some telemarketer who calls you up looking for cash.

Your safest bets are the most well-known organizations. For a fuller list of hurricane-relief organizations worthy of your support, click here.

Red Cross

1.800.HELP.NOW

www.redcross.org

Salvation Army

1.800.SAL.ARMY

www.salvationarmyusa.org

Catholic Charities

1.800.919.9338

www.catholiccharitiesusa.org