It seems statesmanlike. Yet somehow Nethercutt's change of mind does not seem very statesmanlike. One reason, possibly, is that it appears so obviously self-serving. For argument's sake, however, let us give Nethercutt the benefit of the doubt and assume that he really dislikes serving in Congress but stays there out of a sense of duty to his district and to his party. Another problem remains.
Incumbency offers enormous powers of entrenchment.
Nethercutt beat an incumbent by running against entrenchment and now entrenches himself. That is not like, say, promising never to buy a bicycle and then changing your mind and buying one. It is like begging to borrow your friend's bicycle for only a few minutes and then deciding to keep the bike after riding away. Frank was subsequently asked whether the same went for another promise-breaker, Frank's fellow Massachusetts Democrat Meehan. Frank didn't flinch.