First, on Sunday Joan Vennochi compared Deval Patrick to Howard Dean. It's a comparison I made just last week. What Vennochi leaves out in her parallel is that both candidates are seen as more liberal than they are by virtue of their supporters. Both are liberal-by-association more than anything else -- Dean was pilloried in Vermont by environmental groups, and Patrick spent most of his career as a corporate lawyer.
The Herald's Margery Egan has a very flattering column today on Patrick. Egan asks of Patrick, "What does he offer your semi-employed middle-aged guy in Waltham? Defeat of cynicism?" and then answers her question in the very next paragraph:
If I were Deval, I'd become Mr. Property Tax Relief Man, something he says he's working on.Patrick, to me, is the only sane person talking about property tax relief. He needs to talk more about that and contrast his plan to increase local aid with Christy Mihos' scheme. Also, note the quote at the end of the column from former state Senator George Bachrach who briefly describes our early morning caucus planning sessions at the Watertown diner.
In today's Globe, Scot Lehigh gives some publicity to Patrick's grassroots strategy. He even mentions the community tool, which is the centerpiece of the campaign's Internet-based effort. Lehigh asks whether a strategy that focuses on organization at the local level can win in today's media saturated environment. Personally, I'm willing to give it a try. Democrats certainly haven't won by relying on campaign ads recently.
Last, but not least, Herald Reporter/Blogger Jay Fitzgerald posts part of an email I sent him before the convention in response to his claim that out-of-control moonbats would doom the Democrats' chances this November. I disagreed, but mostly I rejected his premise that Deval Patrick would walk away from this past weekend's convention as the sole remaining candidate.
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