Mass. Dem Debate
Crossposted at Talking Politics Blog
I too watched the debate and actually thought all three did pretty well considering the situation - a dead-heat, three-way primary, a couple of weeks from Election Day, with millions flying around and accusations flying every which way. However, I also think we can all agree that any one of them would be better than Mitt "Guy Smiley" Romney.

I don't know about Kerry Murphy Healey yet. I know she is very smart and actually quite charming when you meet her in person. But I don't know how she would actually govern. Having seen some of her moves over at the MassGOP, there is reason to wonder how she would run the state. Although, again, anything would be better than Romney right now.

I liked Mihos and his message. Being an “unbought and unbossed” indie myself, I was really intrigued by his run. However, he lost any and all credibility with me when he picked John Sullivan, the town moderator of Winchester, as his running mate. Since I used to be the editor of The Winchester Star, I know Sullivan all too well and believe me, the man is unqualified to be the second in command. While I couldn’t prove the guy was dirty, it sure felt like he was.

Anyhow, I listened to both WRKO talkers John DiPetro and Howie Carr the day after the debate – hey, I was on the Cape and nothing else was on the radio except classical music, which I also enjoyed over the past few days. DiPetro had Andy Hiller on and I only caught a bit of it before getting out of the car. Hiller talked about nailing Reilly with a Big Dig question – and nail him he did. Reilly has been asleep at the wheel on that although he was correct to point out that this project has been run – and overseen – by Republicans. But Reilly hasn’t done enough as AG to look at this thing or prosecute the criminals. And that is because the Dems and the unions have had their fingers in the batter the entire time Bechtel and Republican governors have been driving it into the ground.

I also agree with Carr’s points about Reilly: Reilly came out swinging and needed to. While it may have seemed like bitching to some, as Carr noted, that is what politics is about. It is about hardball. It is about nailing the other guy if you can with whatever you have. Especially if you are losing, like Reilly seems to be. And, Reilly needed to do something and that is kinda all he had. 'I've been with the regular folks ...' and you know, he has for the most part. Working folks in Meffa, Revere, Dot, and all those other towns – folks who actually vote not pseudo progressives who talk and don't act – know this and will be out for him. His ads also work as do Gabrieli's, IMHO. While some will be upset with the Conte thing, it won't be enough for him to lose. I still think he could win, despite what polls say. There is a silent majority out there that pollsters never talk to.

Also, an interesting point was made by one of Carr’s callers: Reilly kept saying ‘The voters know where I stand’ and the caller stated that Louise Day Hicks was the last pol to use that slogan [“You know where I stand …”] as a veiled message asking white voters to support her in her mayoral races from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hicks was an anti-busing School Committee member from Southie who was elected to the U.S. Congress for one term. Joe Moakley, who bypassed the primary and ran as an independent, later ousted her in a brutal election in 1972. She later became the first woman president on the Boston City Council. Hmm.

Gabrieli was on his game, directly making his succinct points, over and over again. He was also towering over the other two. Having debated with him before, back in 1998, I found him to be a very easy-going and likable guy. But, he is a towering figure. And watching him the other night and realizing how he stood over the other two had to have a mental presence on voters.

I think the Ameriquest thing – as well as Killer Coke – hurts "For it all" Deval. All the inspirational speeches in the world don't make up for the fact that a person has been in the tank with the corporate whores for years and years. Gabrieli can point to hundreds – if not thousands – of jobs he has created. His plan will clearly create more. Reilly can point to other things he has done. What has Patrick actually done? He also didn't look well on TV. While Gabrieli and Reilly looked cool and calm, Deval was sweatin' up a storm.

Having hung around with a slew of progressives over the years, I don't get the obsession with Deval Patrick. So he is black. Big deal. If he wasn't, none of these 20,000 people would be backing him.
For example, let’s say Deval Patrick wasn’t black and was named, Daveo Patricino or David McPatrick, would they be goo-goo over him? No, of course not. Say he was from the North End or Southie instead of the South Side, and worked his way through Harvard, they would look at Ameriquest and Killer Coke and run away in droves.

Update:
Dan Kennedy has a round up on some of the media coverage: ["It's Almost Unanimous"].

Update 2:
It's 12:57 a.m. and I have just seen a second Deval Patrick political ad, right at the end of SNL. Is he trying to appeal to the insomniac crowd? Ads at this hour are a waste of money ... unless TV ads are a lot cheaper than they were in 1998, when spots in the 6 and 11 p.m. news hours were going for thousands.