Romney predicts a landslide victory — if he runs again

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

"Well, I win by a landslide in Massachusetts if I run for re-election. And that's very possibly what I'm going to do," Romney said in an interview with Chris Matthews that was televised nationally Friday 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 re-election.

Friday, 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 re-election. The governor has said he will announce his plans this fall.

The interview was taped Thursday in Quincy, where Romney had a fund-raising event for his re-election 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.