In my view, Grayson would have been a two day story if the Governor and his folks had handled this differently. Grayson simply said he was considering a race for Governor during his discussions with reporters at Fancy Farm. It was a brilliant tactical move on his part. He was the story at Fancy Farm, filling the news void left when no other politicians showed up or stepped forward to announce their candidacy for Governor in 2007.
Fletcher had to say something, because reporters were going to dog him until he gave some reaction to Grayson's statements. If he'd said something like "Trey Grayson is a good public servant and a good Secretary of State, and I think he'll do a great job serving another four years with this administration" or "If he wants to run for Governor, that's his perogative, but I can't worry about what he's going to do. I've got a state and my own campaign to run" it would have kept Grayson in his place, not ticked off half the Republican Party hierarchy and killed the "Grayson for Governor" furor.
Asking former state G.O.P. Chairman John McCarthy or others to make phone calls to those hosting or heading to Grayson's long planned Louisville fundraiser for SECRETARY OF STATE only kept the Fletcherites on their heels and kept Grayson in the news cycle for an entire week.
I'm hearing the one down side for Grayson is that it's given his ego a substantial boost. If that's the case, he needs to come back down out of the clouds. Arrogance has toppled many a young politician who got too big for their britches. As for Fletcher, I applaud his candor when asked for his reaction to Grayson's trial balloon. But if I were his political advisor, I probably would have told him to play it cool and not give an unlikely young candidate a reason to seek the Governor's Office.