What
made it surprising was that it was only a few weeks after he moved
heaven and earth to ensure he would be reelected Speaker. What's even
more surprising is that within minutes of his letter to his colleagues
on Saturday afternoon announcing that he would resign on Tuesday, Bob
DeLeo and John Rogers were doing the dance for the chance to replace
him, with DeLeo pulling out all the stops and announcing he had the
support of 92 of his colleagues to replace DiMasi by midday Monday.

That
was enough for Rogers to back down by midday on Tuesday. That's fast,
people. At least around here, people can see you coming for a few
months before they start to become concerned. Or not.

We are
hopeful that under Speaker DeLeo's leadership, the issue of casinos in
Massachusetts will be reconsidered, along with a number of other
potential revenue-generating ideas that have been squelched under the
previous Speaker. Couple that kind of hope with a leader who is
sensitive to his member's needs and our notably progressive delegation
could get some real work done in the areas of equality, education and
infrastructure development, to name a few.