Commentary, perspective, and point-of-view from the Globe's columnists and editorial-page editors and writers.
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| September 17, 2006 - September 23, 2006 »
September 16, 2006
While the liberal blogosphere is mostly focused on the battle for seats in Congress this November, they have still managed to take a side on the Massachusetts Gubernatorial Primary, and they have thrown their support behind Deval Patrick.
Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, founder of the popular blog Dailykos wrote about the race in July.
“Deval Patrick’s campaign is a people-powered movement. Chris Gabrieli is trying to win the race the old-fashioned way -- by buying it. He has sent $2.5 million in television advertisement. And while it has boosted his numbers, it has done so at the expense of the other ‘establishment candidate,’ Attorney General Tom Reilly,” he said. “Meanwhile Patrick, who is trying to become his state's first black governor, is steadily building an army of people and the results are startling. We truly are building a new political order in which money is losing its potency.”
Another Dailykos contributor compared Patrick to Democratic Senate nominee, Ned Lamont, the darling of liberal bloggers. “Lamont's campaign isn't the only New England Democratic revolution going on. Patrick has been working his campaign a lot longer than Ned, but it shows that even Massachusetts Democrats want change within their party.”
Matt Stoller, of MyDD.com has listed Patrick on his list of favorite politicians calling him “Simply awesome. He's smart, honest, a risk-taker, credible, progressive and a fighter. His campaign is the most innovative state-wide campaign this cycle (with possible competition from Connecticut), and he's turning out to be competitive against a very strong Massachusetts machine using an organizing base tied into the web.”
Posted by Michael Corcoran at 04:48 PM
September 15, 2006
Ann Richards, the former governor of Texas, and a woman always willing to say just what was on her mind, passed away this week. It was that outspokenness that made her interesting to cover.
Back in 1998, during the Clinton-Monica frenzy, Richards was one of the featured speakers at a conference on women and leadership sponsored by the Simmons Graduate School of Management Alumnae Association.
Lesley Stahl, the CBS newswoman, was another. In her speech to the group, Stahl contended that the public had indicated by their viewing choices that they wanted more Bill and Monica. And she seemed to revel in the fact that media was hounding Clinton so about the sex scandal that it was difficult for the president even to hold a press conference without getting bombarded by questions about Monica.
That didn't sit well with Richards -- and when she took the podium, she aimed a rebuke Stahl's way.
"When I hear that the president won't be able to get his message across because half the questions are about matters I don't give a damn about, I am not going to blame him, I am going to blame the people asking the questions," she said.
September 14, 2006
Here's one version of the news about last week's debate from Tom Reilly's web site:
"Between looking over Deval Patrick's shoulder to sneak a peek at his notepad, launching a planned, nasty line about the cost of Patrick’s summer home and blabbing on and on about spread sheets and results, Gabrieli, by turn, bored and irritated voters."
September 14, 2006
What is multi-millionaire Chris Gabrieli really worth? Sadly, my past efforts to find out have gone nowhere. But when Gabrieli responded to Kerry Healey's ad attack on Thursday, it was a chance to try again.
After Gabrieli discussed his willingness to sell any biotech stock he owns to avoid the appearance of a controversy as he calls for public dollars to spur stem-cell research, a bunch of media types gathered round to query him further on the issue. So it was that I tried to slip my query in under the radar.
"What's it all worth, Chris, if you were to bundle that whole portfolio up and sell it?" I asked, casual as could be as I posed my inquiry. And for a second, it seemed like I might just have caught the candidate unawares.
"My total position?" he replied, deadpan. Then he quipped: "Want my tax returns to?"
Which, of course, was his way of saying, I'm not telling. As those who have followed this campaign closely know, the wealthy candidate has refused to release those returns, citing privacy concerns.
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