Romney predicts 'landslide' reelection

Despite polls showing him trailing potential Democratic rivals, Governor Mitt Romney is confidently predicting that he would trounce the competition if he decides to run for reelection next year.

''Well, I win by a landslide in Massachusetts if I run for reelection. And that's very possibly what I'm going to do," Romney said in an interview with Chris Matthews that was televised nationally yesterday on the MSNBC political talk show ''Hardball."

Romney's remarks were the latest in a string of mixed signals in recent months. He traveled the country elevating his national profile and raising cash for Republicans earlier this year and explicitly acknowledged in June that he was testing the waters for a 2008 presidential campaign. But this month, he has emphasized to several reporters that he is focused on his job and that he has not made a decision whether to run for reelection.

Yesterday, his main Democratic rival, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, issued a one-sentence response: ''Whenever the governor makes up his mind, I'm ready."

During a bantering, back-and-forth interview, Matthews was clearly skeptical about Romney's insistence that he had not decided to seek the White House in 2008.

''I love being governor, love what I'm doing here," Romney told Matthews.

Matthews pushed back.

''Why do I get the impression you're running for governor, I mean, running for president?" he asked.

Said Romney: ''I don't know."

Matthews continued: 'I get the impression you're a candidate for president. I watch this every day. I read the news. I see you're evolving on a number of these issues. . . . And you look like you're running for president. You're not content with just being governor of Massachusetts, are you?"

Romney replied that he was, indeed, content.

''I love being governor of Massachusetts," he repeated. ''I'm intent on the job. Anything beyond that is something so remote, both in time and probability, it's not worth talking about at this point."

Matthews didn't specifically ask Romney is he was running for reelection. The governor has said he will announce his plans this fall.

The interview was taped Thursday against a backdrop of boats bobbing in Marina Bay in Quincy, where Romney had a fund-raising event for his reelection effort. The interview was conducted less than a week after a Globe poll indicated that he would face a tough battle if he were to seek another term.

The Globe survey of 503 adults, published Sunday, found that Reilly was backed by 51 percent of respondents, compared to 38 percent for Romney. In March, a Globe poll showed Reilly with 48 percent and Romney with 41 percent.

The poll also found that, when respondents were asked if Romney should be reelected, 30 percent said he should be reelected, and 51 percent said someone else should be elected.

Democrats have said they consider Romney irrelevant -- they have majorities in both houses to easily override his vetoes -- and some have said they are reluctant to hand him legislative victories that he can tout on the campaign trail. But Romney said last week that his legislative ''agenda is as deep as it has ever been, probably deeper," as he seeks to push healthcare, job-creation, and education proposals through the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature.

''What I'm doing here is trying to get an agenda through that includes a healthcare plan that gets everybody health insurance, that reforms our school system, and that builds more jobs here," Romney told Matthews. ''That's what I'm fighting for. And anything beyond that, time will only tell."

During the interview, Romney was asked if there was a clear frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination. He did not include himself when he rattled off his list of potential front-runners.

''Well, I think John McCain is a front-runner, perhaps Rudy Giuliani, Senator Frist," he told Matthews, referring to the Arizona senator, the former New York mayor, and the majority leader of the US Senate, from Tennessee. ''There are a number of folks that are very strong. We have a very strong field."

Romney also assessed the Democratic field and took a shot at US Senator Hillary Clinton, the New York Democrat who may run for her party's nomination.

''I want to make sure that we see some strong names continue to be out there fighting very hard, because I think Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee," Romney said. ''And given the challenges our nation faces, I can't imagine anything worse than having her as president."

Romney, who had once urged the Legislature to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but allowing civil unions with many of the same rights, sought to clarify his stance in the interview, saying he firmly opposes both forms of legal recognition.

''I'm going to want to see a marriage limited to a man and a woman," Romney said. ''I don't want to see civil union either. Of course, if we find ourselves in a setting where the only choice is between civil union and marriage, I will prefer civil union. But I would prefer neither."

Romney, along with some conservative lawmakers and grass-roots activists, has abandoned his support for the amendment, currently pending before a joint session of the House and Senate set to convene on Sept. 14. He now backs a separate measure aimed for the 2008 ballot that would outlaw same-sex marriage, while making no provision for civil unions.

Even Republicans close to the political establishment have been unsure whether Romney will seek reelection. This week, in a surprise schedule change, Romney abruptly canceled his plans to appear at a Republican picnic, planned for today in Nashua, N.H. Romney aides said the governor had a last-minute family commitment.

Romney is expected to make an announcement about his reelection plans in the fall.

Philip W. Johnston, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said Romney's prediction of a landslide victory was a ''statement of extraordinary arrogance," given what he called the governor's thin list of accomplishments and aggressive national campaigning. Johnston, like many in the Democratic Party, said he believes Romney will run for president.

If he seeks reelection, Johnston said, Romney can expect a tough campaign from Reilly; Deval Patrick, a former assistant US attorney general who is running; or Secretary of State William F. Galvin, who has yet to declare his plans.

Romney ''can write large checks to try to fool the voters once more, but I think Massachusetts voters are too smart for that," Johnston said.

''They might have been fooled once, but I don't think it will happen again."