It's the baseless rumor that just won't go away, that a President Obama might appoint his old law school chum Deval Patrick to a seat on the Supreme Court.

Fun, but my guess is, totally false. I suspect the last thing a newly-elected Obama will want is a polarizing Supreme Court nominee whose hard-line views and actions at the Justice Department earned him the nickname "Quota King" in right-wing circles. Can you imagine the scene at the confirmation hearings as conservative - and moderate Democrat - senators quiz Patrick about his push for, in essence, backroom short-circuiting of the constitutional process for repeal of gay marriage, a prioritization of politics over law that earned him an indirect rebuke from the state supreme court?

However, unless I've been misled about the closeness of the relationship between the two men, I do believe Obama will reach out for Patrick should he win, more likely as a trusted player in an inside job like the White House staff or legal office. And I also believe Patrick might go for it, his protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. He aggressively markets himself as a governor for the long-term, whose most significant initiatives likely won't bear fruit for as much as a decade or more. Exit spin: hey, I've planted the seeds, now it's up to you all to make sure the harvest comes in, my commander-in-chief needs me. See ya.

Then again, who in their right mind would want to walk away from a staggering state economy, a hemhorraging state budget, sagging job-approval ratings, and near-daily sniping from virtually everyone around you?

Jon Keller blogs regularly for WBZ-TV Boston at Keller @ Large