The 2010 Massachusetts governor’s race has been received, particularly among college students, with an overlying tone of “meh.”
In the face of a horrible economy that holds the future of the University of Massachusetts’ funding in the balance, the upcoming elections do not bring much to get excited about. One look at the candidates shows why.

Most people that have been paying attention have realized that Governor Deval Patrick has not done a spectacular job during his four years in office. Patrick’s biggest threat, Republican Charlie Baker, does little to appear more than another budget-slasher that won’t do much outside of the conservative base in a blue state. Tim Cahill’s only chance at this point is to show up wearing a Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox Jersey while carrying a Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee and declare that he’s going to do a “wicked good job.” Jill Stein could be the greatest candidate in the world, but she’s still in the Green-Rainbow party.

It’s indicative of the current state of affairs in politics throughout the whole country. Patrick represents a whole lot of incumbent democrats who wanted to make some changes, but the economy had different ideas, hamstringing any effort to make a change, which likely involves spending some cash.

Baker represents the angry counter-liberal approach that has come after a bleak showing from President Barack Obama’s term amid the recession. He’s another guy riding the wave of the pissed-off older population that are losing their jobs and are well aware the country has a gajillion dollar deficit. Don’t bother with stats, they won’t matter by the time Obama unveils his socialist scheme.

What the race boils down to is that Patrick got dealt a crappy hand, and would like nothing more than a pass on the past four years. Baker, meanwhile, wants to cut taxes and cut the budget while the state has a deficit.

Right now, it’s likely that Patrick’s the better candidate, but doesn’t necessarily represent the best endgame for Massachusetts. The Patrick Administration hasn’t been great and doesn’t have a particular upside that one would want with better days hopefully coming for the economy. If he does win a re-election bid, Massachusetts won’t be worse off for it in the short run. But what it does do is put the State House in play for what will now be known as “The Menino Clause.”

“The Menino Clause” is simply the idea that, like current Boston mayor Tom Menino, a politician in this state can stay in office while doing a mediocre job, simply by not doing anything completely atrocious like embezzling funds or taking bribes. The corruption in the state government has lowered people’s standards a bit.

While not awful, the scenario that ends in Patrick’s re-election puts voters in a position to stick to him. It would mean that he’d be a two-time incumbent that survived the Big Democrat Scare of 2010 in a blue state.

The other scenario — barring a colossal upset by Stein or Cahill — is that Baker is elected and fights the good Republican fight in the state house for four years against a Democratic state legislature. Could he do the job? Sure. Will he be able to fulfill his fiscally-conservative campaign promises? It’s unlikely, given the state’s budget crisis and lack of budget flexibility.

What a Baker win would do is keep the door open down the road. None of the four candidates this year are particularly impressive and don’t have much in terms of long-term appeal. It’s not like they would be able to do much for much of their tenure, either, with the state’s budget likely to cripple whatever administration takes office.

Even though the elections haven’t happened yet, it may be more important to look down the road to when the economy is more likely to improve. If there’s a Democrat waiting in the wings that’s better for the job, its best that he or she doesn’t get annihilated by a Patrick office that ran the show while the economy improved. The same scenario would also hinder the chances of a stronger Republican than Baker when they step into the ring in four years.

After his four years in office, Governor Patrick shouldn’t have the world’s biggest fan club, particularly at UMass, where the safety valve has come from the federal government. But amidst a huge deficit, slashing the budget may not be the best idea. But then again, keeping Patrick in office may not be the best course of action either.

For the time being, Cahill and Stein remain out of the pictures, and the forecast for both frontrunners is lukewarm at best. Massachusetts needs a legit governor, and 2010 was a flop. It may be time to start looking at prospects for 2014.

Nick O’Malley is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].