You can lead, you can sing and raise money better than most; but if you can't win, what's going on?

That is part of the problem with Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann's inability to hammer home a victory in last week's race for mayor.

He needed to get a 50 percent plus one margin of victory during the primary election to win the office outright. He didn't make it, despite being pitted against a relatively unknown University of Hawaii engineering professor and an underfunded, soft-spoken and largely unrecognized City Councilwoman who jumped into the race at the last moment.

Somewhere in Hannemann's political history there is a disconnect. He should be walking all over this race. The polls show him to be popular, with approval ratings in the stratosphere. He's made the big, gutsy political move to raise taxes to build mass transit, he networks like he invented Facebook and MySpace and he is not without the ambition to win.

So why isn't Hannemann re-elected already?

Perhaps the biggest reason is that ambition thing. Hannemann at 54 doesn't see himself as mayor and then pau. Hannemann wants to go to Washington and serve Hawaii in Congress.

Who can resist his Kalihi story of success through hard work, rising from a minority in a state of minorities?

Hannemann is a lone wolf. He's the polished Democrat who also served as a White House Fellow to the first George Bush when he was vice president. He has been courted by the local GOP and has to reassure the Democrats that he is with them. But who are Hannemann's allies?

Hannemann is a huge roadblock to the political ambitions of Gov. Linda Lingle, Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

Hannemann has said he might run for some other office in 2010, like governor or Congress. There are persistent rumors that Hannemann and Abercrombie have a gentleman's agreement that Abercrombie will go for governor in two years and Hannemann will run for Congress. If in Congress, Hannemann would then be in position to run for the Senate.

Such a scenario has not been confirmed by either Abercrombie or Hannemann, but even if true, it does nothing for Lingle or Hanabusa. Their political futures could also include running for Congress and perhaps the Senate.

Hannemann's current rivals aren't likely to be future supporters; his political career has not been about building coalitions. Going into the general election, Hannemann should still wonder who has his back.