THE ONLY true surprise in last night’s rusty first debate among the four Democrats competing to succeed Ted Kennedy was that the two neophytes, Alan Khazei and Steve Pagliuca, were about as good and bad as the two experienced politicians, Attorney General Martha Coakley and US Representative Michael Capuano.
None of the candidates truly distinguished themselves. Coakley and Capuano both struggled to translate their respectable records in public office into a cogent case for a promotion. Khazei, cofounder of City Year, and Pagliuca, the Boston Celtics co-owner, only hinted at the arguments for elevating a political outsider.
All four were best when talking about what they knew most. Capuano, who has cultivated an image as a crusading liberal with legislative experience, spoke with relish of pushing through a strong health reform bill the minute Democrats get enough votes. Coakley’s best moment came when she eloquently described the contrast between the theoretical majesty of the law and the way it operates in the daily lives of regular citizens. Pagliuca, a managing director at Bain Capital, made a strong argument for a stimulus plan funded in part by higher capital-gains taxes and targeted toward high tech and the life sciences.
Among the veterans, Capuano defined himself better than Coakley. He argued strenuously against sending more troops to Afghanistan and against a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Coakley, all too aware of her status as perceived front-runner, gave cautious answers that made minimal commitments. But Capuano, too, avoided being nailed down. Pressed on whether he favored drivers’ licenses and health coverage for illegal immigrants, Capuano dismissed the question as posing false choices that would never come up. And he veered between excessive humility and excessive boastfulness. The six-term congressman and Dartmouth graduate insisted that he had to persuade himself that a “working-class guy’’ could handle the Senate; later, he suggested that a failure to vote for him would be an insult to Kennedy.
Among the rookies, the animated Khazei probably gained more than the staid Pagliuca. Best known for an organization that was hot more than a decade ago, Khazei shrewdly updated his resume by emphasizing his work with Kennedy on a national-service bill. But he also veered off point too often, rambling against casinos like an overheated MassPIRG volunteer.
In the end, many voters were left wondering which candidate has the right combination of passion and sophistication to develop into a leader of Kennedy’s stature. The answer isn’t yet clear. To his credit, Khazei ended the night by calling for what the voters - and, apparently, the candidates - need most: more debates.
