It’s beginning to feel like the state motto should be changed to: It could have been worse.

Last week, Bank of America announced that it was closing at least four call centers around the state, including one in Farmington that employs about 95 people.

Gov. Baldacci and Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe all treated the announcement like it was a relief. Why? Because the news could have been much worse.

An unnamed source to The Associated Press said that Maine stands to lose a total of 175 full-time jobs and 170 part-time ones as Bank of America reorganizes after its acquisition of MBNA Corp., a deal that was announced last summer.

The good news: the former MBNA facility in Belfast, which has about 1,700 employees, will stay open.

At its peak, MBNA employed as many as 4,500 people in the state. That number has been declining for some time. Nonetheless, the company remains one of the state’s largest employers.

Given the potential of thousands of jobs leaving the state, it’s no wonder political leaders from both parties saw the silver lining of Bank of America’s decision. Just looking at the numbers, the state dodged a bullet.

But the familiar refrain that things could have been worse gets tiresome.

During the Base Realignment and Closure Commission process last year, Maine stood to lose three installations and thousands of jobs. When it was all said and done, the facility in Limestone was expanded, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was saved, but Brunswick Naval Air Station was selected for closure.

It could have been worse.

By far, Portsmouth employs more people, and Aroostook County would have a tougher time absorbing lost jobs than the mid-coast region, where BNAS real estate has great potential for redevelopment.

The state’s entire political structure – Democrats and Republicans alike – fought to save the military bases. They likely did the same thing with Belfast. In both cases, the decisions about whether to stay in Maine were ultimately out of their control, resting instead in Washington and Delaware, where Bank of America has taken over MBNA’s former headquarters.

When Bank of America acquired MBNA, the company announced its intentions to eliminate 6,000 jobs across the two companies. At the time, the state braced for the worst while lawmakers remained optimistic that we could compete with other facilities and hold onto workers.

So far, it has. The largest chunk of the credit card giant’s employees here still have a job. And the state is aggressively pursuing other companies that might be interested in the soon-to-be-vacant facilities, which are scheduled to close March 10.

It could have been worse.

Good news shouldn’t be so hard to hear.