Antonio Villaraigosa has himself to blame in bowing out

Right now, he knows he can't win, given all the self-inflicted damage he's done.

Of course L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said no to a run for governor.

What else could he say?

You can't do a mediocre job, get lukewarm support in the polls, and announce one week before the start of your second term that you're graduating to bigger challenges. That'd be like getting a 2.0 GPA in high school and announcing you'd like to be a brain surgeon.

Although Villaraigosa had already made it clear he was probably going to bow out of the race, there was our guy on CNN with Wolf Blitzer this afternoon, making it official on national television. Pure Antonio. He actually thinks the rest of the country cares.

"I can't leave this city in the middle of a crisis," he said. "It's as simple as that."

Because of our crisis?

Here's a bulletin:

He's not running because at the moment, he knows he wouldn't win, given all the self-inflicted damage he's done by way of empty public promises and dubious private choices.

Trust me, if he still thought he had a chance, he'd be scratching at the doors of donors in every ZIP code. And if state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown or San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom stumble any time soon, I wouldn't be surprised to see Villaraigosa back in the race, provided he had enough time to raise the loot.

Don't bet on that happening, though, until he rehabilitates himself.

I'm hoping that one day he'll be bound for glory again. At the moment, however, he's the little engine who couldn't.

steve.lopez@latimes.com