Thanks, Deval

Apology accepted. This is the frankness we've come to expect. He did exactly what he needed to do. On style, he's still figuring it out... and what doesn't kill him can only make him stronger. His policies have been excellent, so I'm looking forward to a bump-free few months. Today was a good start.

That said, I'm laying to rest one final point. We learned a little more about the phone call today in the Boston Globe. There's no reason why the Globe couldn't have dug for another day or two on this story to actually get that information the first time around. Printing a complete story is kind of a big deal, to put it mildly. That doesn't excuse the fact that Deval screwed up again... I'm just sayin'.

Update: The Globe Editorial is worth reading, but here's the money quote from Eileen McNamara.

He has been preoccupied, drafting a state budget that required him "to learn a whole new language," he said. "As engaged as I want to be in the big policy issues, what I am learning is that every small thing counts, too."

Politics has "a steep learning curve," Patrick acknowledged, promising that those critics looking for patterns, divining the seeds of his administration's eventual downfall in each error in judgment will be disappointed.

"It is too early for that," he said. "I made a mistake. Period. I am going to do my level best not to make it again."