BOSTON, Mass. — April 20, 2015 — A framed copy of Irish poet William Butler Yeats' "The Fisherman" sits on the mantle in the governor's office, a gag gift from Senate President Stanley Rosenberg to Gov. Charlie Baker, displayed prominently in the now ceremonial digs.
The souvenir from the St. Patrick's Day breakfast in Southie playfully mocks Baker's tear-inducing, unsubstantiated campaign tale of a New Bedford fisherman's struggle to give his sons a better life.
That the governor chose to display the poem where visitors can read about Yeat's "man that doesn't exist" tells you just about all you need to know about Baker's first 100 days in office: Even the partisan punches are sliding off his chin.
"I like the back and forth. I like the sort of banter of the business, whatever the terminology is," Baker remarked during an interview.
During a week when former Gov. Deval Patrick found a new job doing "social impact investing" at Mitt Romney's old firm Bain Capital, inducing apoplexy among the liberal set, and House leaders released their $38 billion budget plan, Baker — when he wasn't demanding the resignations of MBTA board members — did the rounds reflecting on the snowy start to his governorship.
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