Hold the fireworks, and the passion, too
THERE WAS no “wow’’ moment or “ow’’ moment.
None of the four Democrats vying to replace Ted Kennedy in the US Senate came across as the one true heir or heiress to the seat that Kennedy held for 47 years.
If Attorney General Martha Coakley truly is the front-runner that polls show her to be, nothing happened last night to dramatically change that dynamic. Coakley was competent, if not inspirational. While answering a question about Afghanistan, she, for once, sounded less like a career prosecutor and more like a future lawmaker.
Miscellaneous thoughts: Why is Representative Michael Capuano so angry? And why does he think it helps his cause to make Washington sound like a secret club that only he can understand? His attitude pushed Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca to crack, “I know it’s rocket science down there.’’
Pagliuca did a good job presenting himself as the progressive Democrat he claims to be. He criticized the Bush administration enough times to make you wonder why he bothered to contribute to the former president in the first place.
Alan Khazei is the son of a doctor who came from Iran, a factoid he repeated several times. But Khazei also has an instinctive flair for the bold, as illustrated by his eloquent opposition to casinos.
The four Democrats believe in a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and a “robust’’ public option in any health care legislation, as Capuano was the first to describe it. They are all prochoice and against a preemptive strike in Iran.
Each can articulate the liberal policies Kennedy embraced. That uniquely Kennedy brand of vision and passion is harder to mimic.
Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. 
