Mihos presses Healey
A FUNNY thing happened at the forum last night.
Republican Kerry Healey spent the evening trying to highlight differences with Democrat Deval L. Patrick -- but as she did, she found independent candidate Christy Mihos nipping just as determinedly at her own heels.
Indeed, for almost every point the lieutenant governor scored against Patrick, Mihos registered one against her, tagging her as someone late to the game on the Big Dig and part of an ineffective administration on Beacon Hill.
At times, Mihos seemed almost like Patrick's ally, offering much harsher criticism of the Republican nominee than the Democrat did, and keeping Healey off balance, despite her attempts to ignore or make light of his charges. Meanwhile, the presence of Green-Rainbow Party candidate Grace Ross also helped Patrick, with her lefty take on the issues making him seem more moderate.
Credit Healey with being dogged. Her task isn't easy: Behind, she must stake out clear distinctions with Patrick and make those differences appear important enough for moderates to abandon him. That means being direct, but without seeming off-puttingly negative. And she made progress, hitting differences on matters like in-state tuition and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, an income tax cut, merit pay for teachers, more charter schools, and the need for balance on Beacon Hill.
If this race turns on persona, Patrick will win. Having suffered on the wrong side of the stature gap four years ago, the Democrats have the candidate who appears the most seasoned and experienced -- and who has the most comfortable and appealing manner. Those are advantages to savor.
No wonder, then, that Patrick seemingly wants to keep this campaign at a vaguer, more conceptual level of collaborative leadership, inspiration, and hope, rather than to dwell on nitty-gritty matters where people disagree.
His point that illegal immigration needs a federal solution is a good one. Still, on licenses for illegal immigrants and in-state tuition for their children, he will probably have to spell out exactly what he is talking about, and be more persuasive, than he was last night. Similarly, though his point about the fees raised by the Romney-Healey administration was effective, if he has a plan for property tax relief, he needs to let voters in on it.
As for Mihos, he has reason to be pleased . Now, this race is not going to turn on who was the most attentive watchdog on the Big Dig. But in the first debate, at least, the independent candidate was someone to be reckoned with.
Scot Lehigh's e-mail address is lehigh@globe.com. 
