In the video address heard ’round Missouri yesterday, Gov. Matt Blunt explained his decision not to seek a second term by saying:

Once when asked if he were running for re-election another governor responded, “Yes, I like being governor.” When I read that I thought at the time that I never wanted to run for any office just to hold it. I did not run for governor to have a title, but to bring change to state government.

So just who was Blunt talking about it?

While some version of that particular line has been used plenty of times - from Illinois to Ohio - the answer to who Blunt was talking about can probably be found in a November 2002 interview with Bob Holden - Blunt’s one-term predecessor.

The Associated Press asked Holden, midway through what turned out to be his only term, whether he would seek re-election. According to the story:

[H]e didn’t hesitate in replying: “Yes!”

“I have not made an official announcement. That’s down the road. But I will run. I like being governor,” Holden told The Associated Press.

Of course, the bigger question for Blunt is whether he enjoyed being governor. The answer, if you read Virginia Young’s excellent piece on our front-page today, seems to be no.

Young paints a picture of a reluctant governor who was plum tired of being away from his family and was not looking forward to a grueling ten-month campaign.

Todd Smith, director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, comes right out and says it.

“I don’t think he really enjoyed the office that much,” Smith said.

Smith added: “He didn’t really want to go out and cut ribbons and kiss babies and all the things you’re supposed to do as a politician … He was very goal-oriented.”

And right now, Blunt’s goal is to make way for the next governor.