I Officially Feel Bad for Tom Reilly

This man is not fit to be Governor. Going negative early and often, with the help of cozy friends, is how he beat Lois Pines to become Attorney General - so one can question if he was ever fit to be our state's top lawyer to begin with. Not doing anything about Bechtel, Cardinal Law and the ballot fraud of thousands of registered voters (thinking they were getting beer and wine in Supermarkets, instead signing away the rights of gays and lesbians) has answered the question for us all. No, Tom Reilly never was a fit Attorney General. He's not cut out for the Corner Office. Hindsight really is 20-20, even if the glare is blinding for Tom Reilly.

The truth is I can relate to Tom. Tom Reilly was an easy bet, just like I thought I was at 16, in High School and running for Class President. I was a Class Officer for two years and really had my hands on the button during my Sophomore year since the defunct President couldn't even show up to the meetings. About four or five people ran for President for the Junior year, but I thought the clear choice was me: I had the experience and was already elected twice. It was going to be a blowout, I'd get more than half the votes... no one was going to come close.

I was wrong - and in hindsight it was pretty obvious. I may have been the defacto leader the year before, but we didn't do much and had little money in the bank. Heck, I may have even been held accountable. One competitor was probably the most well-liked person in the school, another was our Freshman year's President and that year's victor. It only seemed obvious I would be elected, but I wasn't the candidate I thought I was. I doubt I even finished second.

Come September's primary, I'd imagine Reilly's embarrassment will be a thousand fold. So I feel bad for Tom Reilly. That's right - his race has become pathetic and he deserves some real pity. During the whole Killer Coke thing, I despised him - and thought he deserved everything I sent flying his way.

But the truth is, that's all he had. He doesn't have the vision to be Governor and can't convince the populace that he's best for the job. All he has left is to convince voters that Gabs and Patrick can't be trusted, at best, or are a bunch of criminals at worst. All he has is nothing, at least against a very strong field.

He's reliving Ryan's life at 17, except he's trying to be governor of an entire state. So he's really reliving Joe Lieberman, just weeks later. Lieberman's reelection seemed obvious months ago, but in hindsight it's beyond obvious that he had no chance. The fact that he came within 4% is only because of his election day lies (saying Lamont hacked into his website), some last minute face-savingchanging- and a lot of help from the establishment. Reilly doesn't even have the Bay State establishment's full support now. Their support for Reilly is tepid and divided. Furthermore, his fundraising has tanked - just like his chances to win the office.

So from now on, I think I'm going to take it easy on Tom Reilly. What's happening to him has happened to me - so I know what it feels like and it doesn't feel good. Since he won't be Attorney General, he's about to enjoy have an early retirement - and all his effort went to what? A second story apartment he doesn't own? My point is, it's not going to feel good. A life of public service being rewarded with a vote of no confidence is a sting that really hurts - and there's no way he could have known that months ago. I don't doubt for a second that he had genuine plans to help the state and is probably a decent human being, but he's not fit for Governor and his opponents are clearly better equipped to handle the job. Elections are ruthless and losing doesn't feel good, but sadly it's best for the State of Massachusetts.