Four more years for the Frank Sinatra of Drumthwacket?

Thursday and Friday I was discussing how McGreevey has been positioning himself (after successfully positioning himself as “a gay American”) for staying on as governor for a while. Sure enough, as Roberto noticed, McGreevey Gives Speech, Does Not Mention Resignation,

Is he testing the waters, gauging public opinion to a decision to say “April Fools” on November 15th??

You betcha.

The Daily News refers to the speech as the start of McG’s farewell tour. Multiple farewell tours are a NJ tradition — another native of NJ, Frank Sinatra, had multiple farewell tours, too. McGreevey’s also channelling Old Blue Eyes’s “My Way”. Mc Greevey says, “Yes, I have made my mistakes, and I fully accept responsibility and culpability for those mistakes,” Frank sang,

Regrets, I’ve had a few;

But then again, too few to mention.

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;

Each careful step along the byway,

But more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew.

But through it all, when there was doubt,

I ate it up and spit it out.

I faced it all and I stood tall;

And did it my way.

The NY Times even noticed that during the speech Some in the crowd shouted, “Four more years.” Another sign McGreevey’s staying is that, as John points out, there’s no Cabinet change so far. McGreevey’s staying and the only question is, for how long is he staying? Only until November 15, or until next year, when he can run for reelection?

Some believe that Given the fact that he won’t be running for reelection and it is highly doubtful that he will be resurrecting his political career any time soon, McGreevey can focus on doing the right thing governmentally. This is a faulty premise on several levels:

1. It assumes — as a “given”, as a “fact” — that McGreevey won’t be running for reelection. This is a premature assumption, in light of the recent events. McG was faced with intense pressure by Corzine to make way for an election. The net result was that McGreevey’s stayed put and Corzine gave up his effort and went to Sudan.

2. From the moment of his August 12 speech, McG positioned himself firmly as an ongoing political figure. Back then I misinterpreted and thought he was positioning himself for a comeback. I was wrong. He was positioning himself to stay.

3. The political career needs no resurrection. To the contrary, it’s going full speed at exactly the rate McGreevey wants it to go, sympathetic press and all. Witness the speeches to the unions, the mentioning of G-d when convenient, the strategically-timed personal appearances in welcoming venues interspersed with spending the “weekend with his family” bits, and announcements such as “Next week, he has a number of events geared toward strengthening the New Jersey economy”. Does this sound to you like a defunct political career?

4. Hence, I can safely predict McGreevey will be doing continuing to do what is right for him politically, exactly as he always has.

He’s staying, alright. I can even hear the campaign song in the background,

“The record shows I took the blows

-And did it my way!”