Blogrolling....

I ask The Boston Phoenix's David Bernstein a straight question and am rewarded with a straight answer.

He throws out some interesting potential gubernatorial candidates for 2014, Grossman versus Murray and even cites Martha Coakley as a serious candidate.
I agree with Bernstein though, in the democratic primary the 800 lb gorilla is Tim Murray who has formidable resources both monetary and organizational.
Grossman though, is an avuncular man who has some lush resources of his own to draw on, I'm hard pressed though to see what Grossman's rationale would be for getting into the 2014 gubernatorial race as there doesn't seem to be much ideological difference between him and Murray (or Coakley for that fact).
Which raises the question as to why Martha Coakley would want to run for Governor other than to avenge her humiliating loss to Scott Brown in 2010?

Of course, time is never on the State Treasurer's side...sooner or later your friends do you in so the sooner you move up and out the better.
When yer the AG though, its the opposite problem, if you are any good at the job you tend to make powerful enemies from within and without state government.
Now, don't get me wrong here I'm not a Murray partisan, I like the Lt. Governor but I'm unsure he has the rhetorical gifts to run and win statewide.
In a hypothetical match-up between him and say Charlie Baker, I'm thinking that might be a much closer race than the one the former Harvard Pilgrim Boss ran in 2010.
Oh and Humble Elias finds it interesting indeed that Baker is still considered a factor in gubernatorial politics, apparently the state GOP is waiting word from him that he wants another shot at the corner office.
Well I can see why, despite his numerous drawbacks as a candidate he has name recognition (for better or worse) and a strong fundraising platform. The GOP farm team is still too green to step up to the big leagues (but give that contingent in the State House of Representatives time, they will be heard from in due course) so at the moment it is advantage Baker.