Courting the king

He has a point, up to a point. Warren is a political unknown who will have to prove herself beyond standard liberal audiences. And any Democratic candidate who takes on Brown must be good at retail politics. From barn coat to Army National Guard fatigues, Brown is a master of the photo-op. Like Menino, he also knows how to press the flesh.

Yet when it comes to issues that Menino champions with skill and passion, Brown’s record is anything but supportive.

That would seem like reason enough for Menino to work hard to beat him. But to know Menino is to know that reason does not always propel him. Sometimes, ego does.

Boston’s top Democrat has a long history of playing footsie with select Republicans, from Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci to Brown. He’s also highly motivated by perceived personal slights. To Menino, Warren’s hiring of consultant Doug Rubin is an unwelcome sign that Governor Deval Patrick’s political operation is now in charge of an important Senate campaign. It doesn’t help that Rubin ran Patrick’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign, and Patrick defeated Tom Reilly, the attorney general Menino favored in that Democratic primary. Rubin also ran Peggy Davis-Mullen’s mayoral campaign against Menino.

Menino loved the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy for many reasons, from the slew of federal money and programs Kennedy sent Boston’s way to his willingness to hang out with Menino on election eve and eat Italian food.

What Menino likes about Brown is much harder to quantify. He may relate to his hardscrabble roots, but on a wide array of issues, they have little in common.

At Monday’s breakfast, Menino told the Greater Boston Labor Council that job creation should be government’s priority. Yet one of Brown’s first votes was a deciding one against summer jobs for at-risk kids. Brown also voted for the House Republican budget proposal that would have cut federal funding for Massachusetts jobs - along with funding for the federal Head Start program, which Menino also embraces.