On the western front

THE ADVANTAGE of holding last night's gubernatorial debate in Springfield was not just that issues of concern beyond Beacon Hill were raised. The Springfield questions asked of the four candidates also effectively moved a tape that was stuck on ``repeat."

By now, close observers of the contest can mouth along with Deval Patrick when he says he wants to educate ``the whole child," when Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey pleads for ``balanced government," or when Grace Ross reminds viewers that ``people like you and me" are not sharing in any economic boom. And, of course, when Christy Mihos attacks the woman who isn't there: former acting governor Jane Swift. His grudge against her seems to animate his entire campaign. Viewers looking for new ideas or analysis were disappointed until the questions themselves moved to a new location.

Healey was crisp and specific in her response to a question about improvements in Springfield under the Finance Control Board established to stabilize its teetering finances, saying the city had narrowed its deficit from over $40 million and was on its way to a balanced budget. Patrick, by contrast, was more general and broadened his answer to look ahead. Unfortunately for Healey, though, the control board itself does not appear particularly popular in Springfield. Ross scored a point when she contrasted Healey's earlier call for respecting the people's will in rolling back the state income tax with her support for a control board that undemocratically dictates local policy.

Even when Healey pointed to her successes in office, whether on Springfield, education reform, or signing the new healthcare law, she only reminded voters of her ties to the unpopular Romney administration.

Mihos, when he remembered, took a few jabs at the Democrats as an equally bankrupt major party, but his thrust was still to attack the ``Healey-Romney" administration -- perhaps the only time in history the lieutenant governor has gotten top billing. Healey's dilemma is precisely that her resume has little meaning apart from the incumbent administration. When she succinctly outlined her economic development proposals, Patrick just as neatly agreed on the need to streamline permitting, but countered: ``Why didn't you get it done when you were in office?"

Patrick was more pointed in this encounter in criticizing the status quo. ``They've had their chance," he said in a closing statement. Patrick still needs to articulate his own agenda more sharply, but his broad themes of responsible change are resonating.

There are at least three more debates to go, but none of them is scheduled outside Boston. That's a shame. Massachusetts is too big a state for such a cramped discussion.