A tale of two Mitts
BEWARE THE RED smoke and mirrors coming out of the blue state of Massachusetts, compliments of Mitt Romney.
Romney can run for president, but he cannot hide from the Boston press.
Our great passion is Romney's big fear. We love presidential politics, especially when a presidential campaign features a local candidate. Talking Dubai instead of Big Dig expands the mind and the Web links.
Our portrait of a presidential candidate helped Michael Dukakis in the early stages of the 1988 campaign. It did not help John Kerry in the early or late stages of the 2004 campaign. And it stands to undercut a Romney presidential bid in 2008.
The contrast won't be quite as dramatic as ''The Picture of Dorian Gray," the Oscar Wilde novel about a portrait that grows ugly while the flesh-and-blood subject remains young and perfect. But the canvas on the easel back at home doesn't display the prettiest picture of a Massachusetts governor who would be president.
On the national campaign trail, Romney plays like Theodore Cleaver, the adorable, wholesome boy played by Jerry Mathers in ''Leave it to Beaver, " the iconic sit-com of the 1950s.
But back at home, it's not ''The Beaver" in the governor's office. It's Eddie Haskell, the neighborhood operator who was all talk and unctuous attitude. Governor Gee-whizz on the national political circuit is something else at home: a less-than-sincere smooth talker who sold himself as a political moderate to get elected governor and who is now positioning himself far to the right to appeal to conservative voters beyond New England.
Whatever Massachusetts thinks of Romney's act, it has potential on the national Republican stage, as demonstrated last weekend at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. Two thousand delegates representing 37 states from across the South and Midwest convened in Memphis, where they partied and listened to speeches from six possible presidential candidates.
Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee won a presidential straw poll with 36 percent, and Romney came in second with 15 percent of the vote. According to John Dickerson in Slate Magazine, ''It may not have been a genuine groundswell. In addition to the voters I talked to who were impressed by the governor, I found a few others who said he wasn't their first pick but who voted for him anyway because his supporters had paid for their hotel room for the weekend."
Still, these delegates did like Romney, whose message was two-tiered: First, he worked his new conservative credentials. Then he pitched himself as a governor who achieved positive results, because of those conservative credentials. ''Even in a state as blue as Massachusetts, it makes a difference having a Republican governor. You see, a Republican governor who applies Republican principles can reach across the aisle and make things happen," he told delegates.
Back at home, it's fair to ask: What did Romney make happen here in Massachusetts?
As a businessman, he made a lot of money for himself and others.
As governor? Solid achievement is hard to quantify.
He banished Bill Bulger from his position as head of the University of Massachusetts, an accomplishment more symbolic than substantive. However, given recent books about Bulger and his fugitive brother Whitey, the symbolism may translate unexpectedly beyond Massachusetts, to Romney's benefit.
He strengthened his national profile, but weakened the local GOP. In 2004, he recruited dozens of candidates who all lost to Democrats. In the end, the GOP lost three seats.
On Beacon Hill, Romney let presidential ambition define his social agenda, on issues like gay marriage and adoption, stem cell research,and emergency contraception. In doing so, he leaves a trail of conflicting statements that will allow opponents to portray him as an opportunistic flip-flopper.
He promised to attract business to the state, but watched out-of-towners buy up local corporate jewels.
To his credit, he stood up for a tougher law against drunken driving. He forced a capital gains tax rebate and is still trying to reach compromise on healthcare legislation. However, if the ongoing effort to expand health insurance coverage includes an assessment on business, it is hard to see how that helps Romney in Republican primary circles.
Political campaigns are always a mix of myth and reality. Like all candidates, Romney will try to package information that makes him look as good as possible to a national audience.
As the cliche states, familiarity breeds contempt. It also reveals truth.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. 
