Keller @ Large: Gov. Baker's Secret To Success
BOSTON (CBS) - "You have the highest approval rating of any governor in the country, why?" Keller asked Gov. Charlie Baker during a year end one-on-one interview.
"I don't know," he said. "But we've tried pretty hard to live up to the key commitments we made to people when we ran, and the biggest one was we were going to work across party lines and just focus on getting stuff done."
That won't fit on any bumper sticker. And it certainly lacks the inspirational fervor of any given Deval Patrick soliloquy.
But that's Baker's M.O. and he's sticking to it, even in the face of a persistent effort to get him to take on a man he appears to have little use for, GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Here is an edited version of our exchange:
Keller: Would you vote for him if it comes to that?
Baker: Well, we certainly have a long way to go.
Keller: I know you don't want to answer this question, but wouldn't real leadership be in taking a position?
Baker: I think we have a long way to go Jon.
Keller: So you think he's gonna fold?
Baker: I think there's no way to tell and I think people who predict this sort of thing are often surprised.
Keller: If he's the nominee you'll consider voting for him? That's what you're leaving me to understand.
Baker: There's a lot of room here, a lot of time, and plenty of opportunity for the candidates to make their case.
Keller: Do you feel a Trump nomination would be risky for the party?
Baker: We have a long way to go here Jon.
Keller: What are you afraid of?
Baker: I'm not afraid of anything. Most voters don't want me to participate in presidential politics at all, that's not why they voted for me, that's not why they elected me.
There you have it - a man who is on message and not about to wander off it just to scratch a political itch. It remains to be seen whether that's enough to sustain his sky-high ratings as his term wears on and the inevitable problems crop up. But for now, you'd have to say it's just what the voters ordered.