As Jon mentioned, our governor, Mitt Romney, has decided to pack it in after only one term, opting to not seek re-election next year. I caught a little of his press conference on this, and it bore a certain similarity to the autobiography the first President Bush wrote on The Simpsons, as Mitt (like 41) stated he'd pretty much done everything he wanted in one term.

Romney now goes off to see if his steady shifting to the right over the last year or so gives him any traction in a run for the White House. Good luck with that; I'm sure there'll be some questions about the same-sex marriage thing when you stump at Bob Jones U.

Though, if nothing else, Romney will go down as the greatest governor of the last 20 years. Consider his opposition:

Mike Dukakis - who looked like a genius, until he ran for President, lost focus, and helped plunge the state into a recession well before the rest of the country caught on.

Bill Weld - a liberal Republican and Boston Brahmnin as well-known for his love of the Grateful Dead as for whatever he did while governor. Was going to be an ambassador until Jesse Helms stuck his nose into things.

Paul Celucci - elevated to governor when Weld resigned to chase that ambassadorship, won the office outright in 1998. Preached fiscal austerity, but ran up personal debts of $750000 and apparently let the Big Dig firms audit themselves. He also resigned over an ambassadorship, but actually got the post, serving as ambassador to Canada.

Jane Swift - Ah, Swifty. Between using her staff as domestic help and a state police helicopter to commute to and from her home out west, she managed to become very unpopular. At one point she had a favorability rating in the single digits. She was the first governor to give birth while in office, which I guess is something.