HERE'S the good news for state Treasurer Tim Cahill.
His publicity offensive this week has got everybody talking - and the papers have spelled his name right.
And now for the bad news. His proposals have been roundly panned by both Boston dailies.
"He's basically won the Grand Slam of poor press," says one wag.
How bad has it been? Well, so half-baked have the reviews judged his policy concoctions that if the treasurer were a celebrity chef, he might well have to close the kitchen, lay off the staff, and shutter the windows at Cafe Cahill.
This is not an auspicious start for a man who, as the Globe reported this week, is giving serious consideration to running for governor next year. Others say that, privately, Cahill has been far more definitive.
"He's definitely running," says one Cahill insider. "He's putting together a team."
In an interview yesterday, Cahill told me he'll certainly run if Governor Patrick doesn't, but said he hasn't yet made a decision about challenging Patrick if the incumbent seeks reelection, as the governor says he plans to.
"If the governor is able to solve all these problems, straighten out the economy and get Massachusetts moving, he is not going to have to worry about me," Cahill said. "If things don't turn around, then we'll see."
Although he told the Globe Wednesday that if he runs, he expects to run as a Democrat, Cahill left the door open for an independent candidacy. If the GOP fails to field a serious candidate, that could give him considerable room to Patrick's right. But if a credible Republican does run, an independent candidacy by Cahill would likely help the incumbent by dividing the anti-Patrick vote.
As he mulls his future, Cahill has embarked on an obvious effort to raise his profile.
He began the week by proposing that the state grant the rights to operate three slot machine parlors. Then in a Wednesday speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, he floated the idea of privatizing the lottery.
"He's like a guided missile seeking publicity," quips one State House observer.
Or maybe a misguided missile, for skepticism abounds about his ideas.
The deepening recession has cast considerable doubt on gambling as a budgetary remedy. But if the state does embrace gambling, destination casinos are the way to go. With them, you get more construction jobs as well as permanent hotel, restaurant, and casino employment. Slot sites would deliver far fewer of those benefits. Cahill, however, says slot parlors can be done quickly and contends that, once established, they could evolve into full-blown resort casinos.
A second problem: As the Globe's Matt Viser reported yesterday, experts on the industry say Cahill's projected $2 billion to $3.3 billion in upfront licensing fees for slot machines is significantly inflated.
And though Cahill told the chamber that Massachusetts could get as much as $1 billion initially and $900 million annually by letting a private company run the lottery, such a plan would face a large obstacle: Last year the US Department of Justice advised states that federal law bars them from privatizing their lotteries, something Cahill failed to note in his speech.
Queried about that, Cahill offered this tortuous explanation: Though he was aware of the opinion, he didn't mention it because he was only signaling that he's open to privatizing the lottery, and was not actively pushing such a plan. And besides, he believes the federal opinion, issued under President Bush, can be overcome.
The treasurer professed not to be discouraged by the criticism he's received.
"I have some different ideas," he said. "I would rather put them out there and let people shoot them down, and if I can defend them, I will defend them, and if at the end of the day we are wrong, we are wrong. The more criticism we get, the more we will think about how to overcome it."
Memo to Tim: Time for more thinking.
Certainly Cahill has every right to run for governor. Indeed, the view here is this state would benefit from more political competition.
But let's be blunt. This week, he didn't seem ready for political prime time.
Scot Lehigh can be reached at lehigh@globe.com. 
