Can Mitt Romney get re-elected?

No, and former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis will tell you that.

"He's obviously not running for re-election," Dukakis said confidently during a phone interview last week. "That's clear."

As the Democrat who won the presidential nomination for his party in 1988, shortly after his re-election to Beacon Hill's corner office for a third time, Dukakis should know what he's talking about.

Now here's something from the article that I admire Gov. Dukakis for. He served the state while campaigning over long weekends. I hope our candidates in 2008 do the same.

For Dukakis, 71, there's a formula that guarantees satisfied citizens at home while conducting a presidential campaign on the road.

"I won that (presidential) nomination on long weekends," Dukakis said. "Mondays through Thursdays, I was at the State House. I was very focused on that, because it seemed to me, if I was going to be a credible candidate for the presidency, I had to be at the State House. I made it very clear I was going to take care of the business at home."

Dukakis' legacy implies he did just that. He was named "Most Effective Governor" in the country by the National Governors Association in 1986. He is credited with pulling the state out of financial distress and shrinking the unemployment rate to 2.5 percent. And when people remember the great Blizzard of '78, they often recall Dukakis, dubbed the only person in Massachusetts who reported to work that day.

Romney, on the other hand, has been publicly criticized for spending generous amounts of face time in key election states and failing to focus on the agenda back home.

While his loyal supporters credit him with cleaning up the Turnpike Authority and holding Big Dig contractors accountable, his critics accuse him of failing to accomplish anything of significance in a mostly Democratic State House.

"It would be nice if he would focus on the business at hand," said Dukakis, citing a lack of affordable housing and crumbling highways as critical needs. "I was very up about my state. But what was even more important, was the fact I had a state that was succeeding."

If Romney launches a presidential campaign next year, he'll be the third person in recent history to have fleetingly held the state's highest office as a stepping stone to something much bigger.

Dukakis doesn't put himself in that category. He served one full term in 1974, lost the next one in 1978 and came back to win two consecutive terms from 1982 to 1990.

"I don't know why you'd run for governor if you're not going to stick around," Dukakis said. "It's baffling to me. It's the greatest job in the world."

I have some commentary of my own for this article. You should recall I wrote about Julian Carroll's plan for 2007. I'm surprised he wasn't quoted in this article. I am aware that Jerry Lundergan's election as Chairman caused a dividing point in the party. However, I support the party, therefore, the Chair. Am I happy about this? Well, not exactly, due to the ethics violations, but life goes on. We cannot afford this infighting between the seperate wings of the party. At the end, we are all friends. I agree with Jerry's quote on 2007. Party leaders will say the same. We have to focus on next year before we get to 2007.

"If we do that, then we will have the base, the strong base, to field a candidate and win the governor's race in 2007," Lundergan said. "But to talk about the governor's race, to encourage people to start campaigning in the governor's race, is not the thing to do as we try to rebuild our party."

Lt. Governor Steve Henry is mentioned. Other candidates too, including some others that I need to add on to my list.

Other candidates could include state Auditor Crit Luallen, U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, state Attorney General Greg Stumbo, state House Speaker Jody Richards and state Treasurer Jonathan Miller.

Political experts and Democrats also mention former congressional candidate Jack Conway of Louisville, former candidate for lieutenant governor Charlie Owen, Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson, Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford and state Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley.

I like Jack Conway and I hope he decides to see the 3rd District seat before making a statewide run. However, I really don't like the idea of Bruce Lunsford running after he stabbed us in the back last time by endorsing then-Congressman Ernie Fletcher for Governor.

Lundergan has been discussing strategy. I knwo we have to reframe the issues.

Lundergan said he has been asking Democratic hopefuls for all offices to abstain from running against each other -- avoiding divisive primary battles as a way to save money and political capital.

"Can I get that accomplished? I don't know," Lundergan said. "But let me tell you -- that should be our mission."

The Democratic strategy also includes redefining the "values" debate, reconnecting with rural voters who have voted Republican, raising more money and distancing themselves from the national party, state party members said.

Boyd County Democratic Party Chairman Marcus Woodward said he has been working on the state's eastern edge to raise money, assess activity or lack thereof in his precincts, and recruit local leaders to organize activists.

"We've been apathetic. We're our own worst enemy," Woodward said.

Democrats say Republicans have branded them as lacking "values" on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and the role of religion in government. To combat that, Democrats must refocus the debate on such traditional Democratic issues as education and health care, they said.

We have to get the Democratic voters who vote with the GOP back. Fletcher is helping us with the scandal.

Jerry is doing a good job with bridging the split. Look at Family Day as well as during the state fair.

Lundergan's election as chairman revealed an ideological split in the party, with Luallen, Miller and Chandler opposing his candidacy while Stumbo, Richards and Worley supported him.

Lundergan said he asked the dissenters to "give me an opportunity to prove myself."

Those officials or their representatives all stood with Lundergan and Democratic House and Senate leaders as they unveiled their 2006 legislative agenda at the Kentucky State Fair, Lundergan noted.

"We are going to continue working together until we get this right," he said.

Stumbo said the new chairman has paid off the party's debt, planned a roster of events and proven himself enough to Miller and Luallen that they have been willing to stand with him publicly.

"Jerry Lundergan, I think, has done a lot to heal what wounds or divisions there may have been," Stumbo said.

Luallen said Lundergan has "worked extremely hard" and shown an "incredible level of enthusiasm and commitment to this job."

"We have to move beyond differences that divide us and try to find that common ground that unites us as Democrats," Luallen said, mentioning issues such as education, health care and jobs.

Losing the governor's office for the first time in 32 years, followed by a wave of House losses, served as a "wake-up call" for Democratic leaders who had become disconnected from the party's 1.54 million registered voters, said Worley, D-Richmond.

"You don't take power for granted, you don't take your majority status in the state for granted when you see that you can lose," he said.

Let's take a look at the latest Bayh Watch:

Michigan is one of the contenders, which would seem to help Bayh.

But in a recent Strategic Vision poll of registered voters in Michigan, Bayh was the choice of only 5 percent of the Democrats who picked a favorite. That placed him fifth, behind Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York (35 percent), Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts (13 percent), former Vice President Al Gore (10 percent) and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina (7 percent).

That's only slightly better than the 3 percent support Bayh received in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in July.

Right now, it's all about name recognition. This time, four years ago, Joe Lieberman was first in the polls.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson is beginning to look like the next Evan Bayh in Indiana. Peterson's former staffers are getting elected. Peterson was the chief of staff to Evan Bayh when he was Indiana's governor.