Romney buys time. So Governor Mitt Romney bought himself another month, announcing last night that his cuts for the current fiscal year won't be nearly as bad as what he had led us to believe a couple of weeks ago (gee, what a surprise), and putting off until late February or early March his proposal to reorganize state government. That gives him another few weeks to figure out how he's going to explain that his reorg won't accomplish much, and that he really is going to have to slash "core" services, raise taxes, or both.

But give the governor a break. There's no such thing as a bad day when it includes MDC commissioner David Balfour's being told to hit the bricks. Even better, Romney wants to do away with the MDC entirely. (Click here for Globe coverage, and here for the Herald's take.)

Meanwhile, the Globe's Frank Phillips today has a useful analysis of how inaccessible Romney has proved to be, especially when compared to his four immediate predecessors -- Democrat Michael Dukakis and Republicans Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci, and Jane Swift. To update Harry Truman, Romney already knows he can't stand the heat, so he's staying out of the kitchen.