By David Shapiro

There's no question anymore that University of Hawai'i President Evan Dobelle made a foolish mistake by endorsing Mazie Hirono over Linda Lingle for governor.

The only question left is whether his poor judgment will prove fatal to his presidency.

When Dobelle stepped before the camera to swear partisan fealty, he squandered the nearly universal respect he's enjoyed in formulating a vision for UH and setting its agenda.

One UH regent resigned to protest Dobelle's politicking, and Lingle continues to express pique over his "highly inappropriate" descent into the political fray.

Dobelle doesn't help himself with clumsy attempts at damage control that further strain his credibility.

His mistake wasn't in endorsing the Democrat over the Republican, or even in backing the loser; it would have been just as wrong for Dobelle to heed calls to show solidarity with his faculty by joining them in endorsing Lingle.

He cheapened his office by compromising his ability to work in a trusting relationship with whichever candidate won. He put loyalty to his political benefactors ahead of the best interests of the university he serves.

Lingle vows to get past her annoyance with Dobelle and deliver on her campaign promise to support UH as an important driver of a more robust Hawai'i economy.

But support for the university won't necessarily translate to support for Dobelle. He'll often find his views taking a back seat to the contrary opinions of the UH faculty, the only labor group to support Lingle both times she ran for governor. He can expect Lingle to be less solicitous of his interests in appointing regents to oversee his work.

Dobelle insists publicly that the Hirono endorsement was his idea and not the result of Democratic prompting. But he tells people privately that he was under pressure to do an even stronger ad against Lingle, giving credence to the assessment of Lingle's running mate, James Aiona: "They yanked his chain and he jumped."

Dobelle lamely defends himself by citing former UH President Al Simone's endorsements of Gov. John Waihee more than a decade ago, ignoring the hard work since then to disentangle UH from state politics and give it some measure of autonomy.

He can't have it both ways: Either UH is going to be autonomous or it's going to be run from the hip pocket of the political establishment.

Dobelle says he's ready to work as a loyal member of Lingle's Cabinet, but weakens any chance of gaining her trust by saying in the next breath that he'd endorse Hirono again — all but putting Lingle on notice that he'll likely be campaigning against her once more in four years.

His first bit of advice as a loyal member of Lingle's Cabinet was the insulting suggestion that she continue to employ Gov. Ben Cayetano's chief-of-staff, Sam Callejo, hinting that he'll hire Callejo if she doesn't.

This sounds an awful lot like a threat to run a government-in-exile out of Manoa — a haven for Democratic patronage workers who lose their jobs to the new Republican administration.

Dobelle moans that he doesn't understand Hawai'i politics or the furor he's caused.

It's this simple: When he was hired, Dobelle demanded that Hawai'i make an expensive long-term commitment to him. It's infuriating that he's so recklessly undermined his ability to fulfill his end of that commitment.

Our state university doesn't belong to any political party and is too important to our future for its leader to render himself a $442,000-a-year political eunuch.

David Shapiro can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.