A New Star Shines From Massachusetts

Barack Obama, whose recent campaign-style swing through Iowa has renewed talk of the freshman senator from Illinois as a presidential prospect, is still the frontrunner in discussions about who might be the first African-American to occupy the Oval Office.

But the voters of Massachusetts have given Obama some competition.

The landslide winner of Tuesday's voting in what was supposed to be a close contest for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Deval Patrick, is certainly not as well known as Obama. But if, as many expect, Patrick prevails in the November election, he will quickly find a place on the national stage. And if he proves to be as successful at governing the Bay State as he was as a law clerk for a law clerk for one of the nation's most progressive jurists, Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as a top lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and as assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Clinton, Patrick will soon enjoy his share of presidential speculation.

Don't go looking for a rivalry between Obama and Patrick, however.

The two men, both products of challenging backgrounds who made it to Harvard Law School, have been friends for more than a decade.

Last year, when political observers discounted Patrick's prospects – the Boston Globe described him as "a political unknown" after he first discussed running – Obama endorsed the Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate. The senator hosted Patrick at a 2005 Congressional Black Caucus weekend in Washington and organized a major fund-raising event on his behalf in Chicago.

In June of this year, Obama returned to Boston -- where he claimed his place on the national stage with an electrifying keynote address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention -- to introduce Patrick at a rally before the June convention where the first-time candidate would secure the gubernatorial endorsement of the state Democratic party. Noting that Patrick was given little chance of winning when the two men began talking about the race in 2005, Obama told a cheering crowd of 3,000, ``Now, lo and behold, one year later… this man who they said could not, in fact, can."

Patrick got off the best line of that night: "You know your campaign is on fire when Barack Obama is your warm-up act."

Patrick's campaign was on fire. Obama's endorsement certainly helped. But the real spark was Patrick's appeal to progressives -- with his strong support for the marriage rights of lesbians and gays, his ardent opposition to the death penalty, his sympathy for the circumstance of immigrants and his backing of a minimum-wage hike and health care for all -- as well as a highly-effective field operation run by veteran civil rights and social justice activists.

Patrick and his backers built a remarkable grassroots campaign that crossed lines or race, ethnicity, class and gender to unite Democrats in a blue state where divisions have repeatedly cost them the governorship. Like Obama in the Illinois Democratic Senate primary of 2004, Patrick emerged on the basis of a smart, aggressive campaign as the clear choice of party activists and, ultimately, of the voters.

On Tuesday night, Patrick was winning close to 50 percent of the Democratic primary vote, while the candidates who were once considered the frontrunners, Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and wealthy businessman Christopher F. Gabrieli, who spent $10 million of his own money on the campaign, each collected about a quarter of the ballots.

Patrick still faces a serious contest in November with the Republican lieutenant governor of a state that has not elected a Democrat to its top job since Michael Dukakis in 1986 -- and that, despite its liberal reputation, has never elected a woman or a person of color as governor. But the momentum's with Patrick and, if he wins, so, too, will be the talk about a place on a future national Democratic ticket.

Who knows? If the America that is evolves to the American that might be, maybe we'll see bumper stickers that read: "Obama-Patrick"?

Comments (43)

1. "Maybe it will be Obama-Patrick?"

   You kidding, right? You really see this as a future in the White House...you see this as a winning ticket in the US? Wow.

   Posted by john maasch at 09/20/2006 @ 12:18am

2. A liberal elected in Massachusetts?!??!!??

   WOW....the Revolution has come!

   Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 07:07am

3. John: Why do you think that ticket isn't viable? Since Republicans have been campaigning for and catering to the right wing of that party for 12 years with great success, maybe it's time Democrats started to head in the progressive direction rather than trying to always find the center. Or did you have another reason why it might not work?

   Mask: Sarcasm noted. However, this was a primary, not an election. And, as the article states, Massachusetts has not elected a Democrat for governor since 1986. I think that the point of the article is the effectiveness that a grassroots campaign can have - O'Reilly and Gabrielli are known names in the Commonwealth and have had much more media visibility than Mr. Patrick. But, Patrick supporters have come to my door, waited outside the library, pasted campaign stickers everywhere, and generally been very effective in creating word-of-mouth buzz.

   Posted by twocinc at 09/20/2006 @ 08:10am

4. Posted by TWOCINC 09/20/2006 @ 08:10am

   1986? Hardly a major "shift" in politics, for a state that has consistantly re-elected Ted Kennedy since 1962! Or John Kerry since 1984.

   And as you note...this is JUST A PRIMARY. If Mr Nichols wants to make some hay out of Daval Patrick, I think he should keep his powder dry until Patrick wins the Governorship.

   Last part is interesting though..."Obama/Patrick"? I thought Mr Nichols was "Fine With Feingold"? Now he's talking "Bully For Barak"? Odd, given that others here at "The Nation" have criticized Obama for being "too centrist"? (David Sirota | page 1 of 3 | June 26, 2006 issue Barack Obama talks a great progressive game. ... article | posted June 8, 2006 (June 26, 2006 issue). Mr. Obama Goes to Washington. David Sirota. ....They Should Have Hissed Barack Obama Alexander Cockburn | April 24, 2006 issue)

   Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 08:41am

5. http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/ is reporting that Deval's building an enormous mansion in the western part of the state...

   Posted by woodyee at 09/20/2006 @ 09:56am

6. WOOD-MIND,

   You are some kind of slueth! Bringing to our attention the earth-shattering revelation that ... Deval's building an enormous mansion in the western part of the state....

   That piece of intelligence gathered from the front lines puts all readers' lives on an entirely new course, one that traverses a higher plane. Although you do not furnish a motive: Perhaps living around Boston, where garages command six digits, was too expensive? Alternatively, should Deval take up residence in the tar paper shack or mobile home that abuts your (coiugh, ahem) "mansion"? Please, explain.

   However, since you have committed yourself to this titanic, all-important news narrative, do continue with it: Do you think Deval will have sex with another homo sapien in the bedroom of this domicile? If so, should your beloved Muslim style-conservaLoser sex police intervene? Will Deval committ the offense of shitting in the bathroom?

   Watch this space. For WOOD-MIND, monitoring this all-important caper may be the only way for him to be occupied when not semi-secretly and sweatily jerking off over McViegh/Atta acts of rightwing mass murdering terror...

   Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 10:26am

7. CONSERVATIVES: They don't believe in science (climate change, evolution), human rights and equality (Jim Crow and his descednents), representative government (endless right-wing coups), all of which derive from an essential human rationality and goodness.

   CONSERVATIVES: Like their heros whom they midlessly worship ---McViegh/Atta/Pinochet/Suharto/Hitler/The Shah/Franco/Mussolini, among a gallery of other rightwing creeps -- they do believe in using force to grab what they cannot earn (rape-murder-torture, on whatever scale, the ultimate conservative acts of brute, barabarous force, usually exercised against parties they think are weaker or with whom they could not dream of competing on a level playing field).

   Conservatism is a scourge, be ever vigilant against it and its evil agents.

   Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 10:36am

8. Posted by GLENN LEMON 09/20/2006 @ 10:36am

   Interesting statement, GLENN....DARLADOON made a similar one last week.

   So, given that, do you mean that morally superior people become political liberals....or those that take up political liberalism become morally superior people? Chicken or egg?

   Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 10:42am

9. Lemon - What the HELL are you talking about???? I think the tin's getting a little hot on your head there, sourpuss.

   Posted by woodyee at 09/20/2006 @ 10:43am

10. "Deval's building an enormous mansion in the western part of the state..."

    Here's another earth shattering revelation: the President owns a large and sprawling 1600 acre ranch in Crawford, TX! It has cattle, a large house, and fully stocked fishing pond on it! It gets better - his father (who used to be President) owns a huge complex on its own peninsula in Kennebukport, ME that comes complete with tennis courts and a helipad!

    Maybe you're suggesting that progressive black Democrats shouldn't live in big houses.

    Posted by twocinc at 09/20/2006 @ 11:02am

11. Actually WOODY...kinda go with GLENN and TWOCINC on the Patrick mansion thing.

    I got no problems with rich liberals who live in big houses.....upto when they start talking about energy conservation and spend $5000 a month on their electricity for them. Or they start putting down "suburban development"? Or they start talking about the "evil rich and their mansions and yachts".

    Other than those kinds of hypocrisies....the man deserves to live in whatever kind of house he can afford. (DARLA might disagree!)

    Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 11:25am

12. To the author: If Patrick and Obama are friends, not rivals, why would you entitle your piece as if only one of them can occupy the national spotlight at a time? That framing implies that the US, indeed even the democrats, can only stomach one black leading politician - the success of another black leader does not threaten to overshadow a white one, but rather threatens to displace the position of another black leader. This might be an accurate reflection of racial politics in the US today. But, despite weakly imagining a national ticket with both names at the end of the article, the entire rest of it does nothing to challenge our racialized expectations of politics.

    Posted by andrealuque at 09/20/2006 @ 11:34am

13. Meanwhile back at the ranch, "THE RED GETS REDDER AND BLUE GETS BLUER". Posted by RIO BRAVO 09/20/2006 @ 12:29am

    I suppose this is due to Dubya bleeding the lifeblood of the very states that supported them, and the Dems....well, we're holding our breath till November. You'd be blue too!

    Posted by leftofcenter at 09/20/2006 @ 11:46am

14. I don't get this crap about Obama. he's done NOTHING, and they're measuring the curtains for the white house.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 09/20/2006 @ 11:50am

15. Mask -

    Twocinc is correct and if you lived here you would see his/her point. Patrick came out of nowhere to capture the nomination after building up his campaign from scratch a year and a half ago. Tom Reilly was the clear front-runner at the time - it was basically "his turn." A series of blunders was one thing that sunk Reilly along the way, but more important was the effectiveness of Patrick's organization and his political skills. Patrick truly has a grass roots organization and scored a resounding victory because he successfully reached voters precinct by precinct - out of 351 cities and towns, all but 23 want to Patrick. It was not done through TV ads and it was not even close.

    As pointed out earlier, the last Democratic governor here was Dukakis. So, your sarcasm has little behind it.

    Kerry Healey, the GOP nominee and current Lt. Gov. no doubt will launch a negative campaign painting Patrick as the next Castro - that is her only hope at winning. Due to recent GOP success in gubernatorial races, many Republicans assume it is a foregone conclusion that this strategy will work again. Although registered Dems outnumber Republicans 3 to 1 here, more than half of the electorate are independent, so many like to think that voters tend to vote GOPers for governor to "balance" against the solidly Democratic legislature. I disagree - the GOP has simply had better candidates (Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci and Mit Romney) than the Dems fielded in the past four elections. Healey is not in that same mold and Patrick is much better than recent Democratic nominees. His organization is very very strong and his primary win shows it can get out the vote - turnout was almost 30% higher than the '02 primary. The conventional wisdom ‘round here was that if turnout was high, this would help Gabrieli because the thought was that he would capture independents with his so-called moderate message (funny thing is, Gabrieli and Patrick agree on about 95% of the issues). This was way off – turnout was much larger but it all went to Patrick. If Healey thinks she can follow the same recipe of her predecessors, she is in for a very rude awakening come November. The Romney administration has no record to run on since for the second half of his term he has been outside the state more than in it – with eyes on a bigger job. This will hang heavy on Healey. I would not underestimate anyone, but Healey has an uphill battle.

    Posted by Hman23 at 09/20/2006 @ 11:56am

16. Woodyee -

    Yup - a stunning observation - Patrick was been successful financially. But since the wealth of the candidates is so important to you, you probably know that Patrick is not quite as rich as his opponent.

    Posted by Hman23 at 09/20/2006 @ 12:08pm

17. As a MA resident I would urge some restraint. There has been a Repbublican governor since 1990, and Healey is more moderate than Gov. Romney.

    A lot of independents here split their tickets here and that's why while the state house is Democratic controlled, and every Senator, Congressmen is a Democrat, the governor happens to be a Republican.

    Voters here don't trust either party with complete control of state affairs.

    Posted by Zeddmen at 09/20/2006 @ 12:08pm

18. "no doubt will launch a negative campaign painting Patrick as the next Castro"

    Posted by HMAN23 09/20/2006 @ 11:56am

    Sorry, are you saying there's something "negative" about being "the next Castro"?...(A few around here might disagree!...hehe)

    I think ZEDD might have it right. For all the talk from the Left about "one party rule in Washington", seems they forget that that can cut BOTH ways. I'm rapidly becoming a believer in the "Divided Government" Theory of success and prosperity for this country.

    It keeps both sides in check and tends to promote compromises, rather than grandiose plans doomed to failure (i.e. Hillary-care or Bush's Social Security reform).

    But Patrick's election won't be some "revolutionary" shift in Massachusetts. Romney and the state house were not that far apart (except now since he's moving to his 2008 bid). And I doubt nationally, if a Democrat winning the Governorship in MA is going to be harkened as some "paradigm shift" that Mr Nichols thinks it is.

    And again....what's up with him pushing a "Obama/Patrick" ticket? He and ol' Russ have a falling-out?

    Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 12:26pm

19. Zeddmen -

    I live in MA too and I think you are giving the party-splitting theory too much credit. Kerry Healey is no Bill Weld or Mit Romney. Besides being adept politicians, they were perceived as outsiders to politics on Beacon Hill. Healey cannot play that same card - she may not be a part of the legislature and will talk about how she has "stood up to the legislature", but she is a part of the current state government and will have Romney's poor record around her neck. Healey is certainly more moderate than Romney but she WILL go negative and campaign on the scare tactics of what will be in a Partick administration. That is a risky strategy considering she is not an outsider. Her record will have to come into play, whether she wants it to or not.

    Posted by Hman23 at 09/20/2006 @ 12:26pm

20. Lemon - What the HELL are you talking about???? I think the tin's getting a little hot on your head there, sourpuss. Posted by WOODYEE 09/20/2006

    WOOD-MIND,

    Just keep up your self-appointed mission of peering in other people's windows (in this case, Patrick) in order to perform the valuable social service of evaluating how "big" their houses are. In fact, you should continue your bulletins on Patrick's house, perhaps even devote a blog to it, in order to garner more of the wildly approving acclaim that you have been greeted with here for your trenchent insights into Patrick's domicile.

    Jhhheeeeshhh.

    Again, a WOOD-MIND WATCH ON PATRICK'S HOUSE blog, regularly updated, will be less time for you watching beheading videos. Indeed, you appear to have an unseemly fetish for these videos given your references to beheadings. Criminally sick actions, sick viewing material, for sick minds...

    Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 1:20pm

21. So, given that, do you mean that morally superior people become political liberals....or those that take up political liberalism become morally superior people? Chicken or egg? Posted by MASK 09/20/2006 @ 10:42am

    MASK,

    Not the right question nor a particularly interesting one.

    But I am curious and maybe (given you're generally informed) you can help: When in any remotely recent times in any western industrial state do think there has been a political faction as disasterously wrong about science (stem cells, climate change, evolution), about the relationship between religion and the state, about "pre-emptive attack", about long term security strategy, about torture and international law, about economic management as the present pack of conservaClown screaming-like-banshee zealots in the US?

    Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 1:29pm

22. Speaking of Romney, as some people have ...

    Anyone have any answers as to why his combat-aged children are not serving Jesus and the USA in actively battling, with arms, the most existentially threatening evil of our lifetimes?

    And why aren't the Bush twins, also prime fighting age and endowed by nature with such heroic stock, serving the nation as boots on the ground in its darkest hour of gravest threat, when the rules have changed, when it's unalloyed good versus evil, when no sacrifice is too vast?

    ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

    Jus' wondering ...

    Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 1:37pm

23. The difference between Democrats and Republicans, Democrats dont have to distance themselves from George Bush to get elected.

    Posted by LiberalPride at 09/20/2006 @ 1:43pm

24. Posted by GLENN LEMON 09/20/2006 @ 1:29pm |

    GLENN, happy to answer YOUR question....if you'll do me the courtesy of answering MINE first...deal?

    Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 1:57pm

25. MASK,

    I did answer, albeit glibly.

    But my question was actually tossing you the red-meat with lots of space to elaborate, your way. That's 'cuz I am very sure that you know exactly what I meant in the bill of particulars on the current breed of rightwing slob (again, with regard to science, law, religion, et cetera).

    Sorry to see you passed it up...

    Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 2:07pm

26. I'll be getting on the trail now. Glad to see that blandly prolix torture guy MaryBretBrad is getting reamed 'til he bleeds, by tagteam, over on the other thread ....

    Posted by Glenn Lemon at 09/20/2006 @ 2:11pm

27. Posted by GLENN LEMON 09/20/2006 @ 2:07pm

    GLENN, I'll give you a SPECIFIC answer (not even glib)....William Jennings Bryan...three-time Democratic Party nominee for Prez, strong proponent of popular democracy, an outspoken critic of banks and railroads (i.e. "Big Business"), and one of the most prominent leaders of the Progressive Movement.

    and a STAUNCH opponent of Darwinism and proponent of banning the teaching of evolution.

    And before you think him some "greedy proto-Kennedy non-liberal" Democrat....read this quote from him..."There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests up on them."

    Now....how do you reconcile THAT...with a man who was to the RIGHT of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell on evolution.

    (In a way, answering BOTH our questions...for there IS no "moral superiority" to a political ideology, Left or Right, and anybody who claims that there is, isn't talking "politics"...but "religion")

    Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 2:20pm

28. Occasionally I'll wiz throught the Nation online to see if anything interesting is worth reading. I have never posted here before, but I must share that because of shallow articles like this one, I am no longer a subscriber to the Nation.

    The tone of obsevering the Black politicians as curiousities is unsettling. Gee wiz - they don't fight with each other - they are friends. They even went to school together. They are nice. See Dick and Jane run.

    John - we must remember though - one is not enough - two is plenty, yet three is way too much.

    The Nation is so dated in it's politics.

    Posted by cab-art at 09/20/2006 @ 4:03pm

29. Posted by CAB-ART 09/20/2006 @ 4:03pm

    An interesting take on it. I didn't even consider the fact that Mr Nichols is apparently making a "good black vs. a not-AS-good black" comparison. Or the even worse "See! See! Here's an EVEN BETTER (ideologically) attractive black...that we Dems can put forward!"

    Posted by Mask at 09/20/2006 @ 4:37pm

30. twocinc,

    They are not viable because of what they believe. The NAACP credentials work well in the black and liberal circles, but everywhere else it dies on the vine.

    Their philosophy will find no converts and neither of them has had any thing done in office...especially Obama.

    Posted by john maasch at 09/20/2006 @ 5:09pm

31. Maasch -

    Kind of hard for Patick to have done anything in office considering he has never held an elected position.

    Posted by Hman23 at 09/20/2006 @ 5:34pm

32. I've got almost every one of the Republican dimwits on ignore but it's really funny to see the responses to them. It's similar to the utterances from the teachers minding the screaming, scampering brats on a museum field trip.

    Posted by fromredbird at 09/20/2006 @ 9:17pm

33. Final proof that oblivious ignorance is the ultimate bliss for birdies and zeros.

    Posted by RIO BRAVO 09/20/2006 @ 10:40pm

    Before I start, I just want to point out that this will be a bit of a random tangent...OK, maybe a really random tangent, but...

    How can a zero either be ignorant or feel bliss? It's a number! Does it remain unaware of all the twos it hurts in its actions? Could it feel happy for helping out the fours or entering a relationship with a seven?

    Posted by Thrawn at 09/20/2006 @ 11:06pm

34. "Maasch -

    Kind of hard for Patick to have done anything in office considering he has never held an elected position."

    My point is he has nothing but Naacp credentials, which are nothing for a majority of Americans to cheer about. That organization has let its clutch fly out years ago and has morphed into nothing but a shrill liberal vote machine...the entire movement sold out its character years ago...MLK is really the high water mark as far as civil rights...and righteousness...

    And Obama, as great a speaker that he is..he has done nothing of note other than be black and win an election over no body....window dressing old sport...style over substance.

    Posted by john maasch at 09/21/2006 @ 12:47am

35. Yep. really random...

    ;o)

    Posted by Malcontent at 09/21/2006 @ 12:54am

36. Yep. really random...

    ;o)

    Posted by MALCONTENT 09/21/2006 @ 12:54am

    Haha, I know; I just couldn't resist.

    Posted by Thrawn at 09/21/2006 @ 01:14am

37. Maasch -

    Take a look at Patrick's bio. He has done much more than work for the NAACP. He served as the head of the Civil Rights Department at Justice; was a partner at two major Boston firms; general counsel at Coca-Cola; served on numerous other charitable and corporate boards; was on the Federal Election Reform Commission and served as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Committee.

    Not sure exactly WHAT would qualify in your book as impressive credentials, but Patrick certainly has a more impressive resume than - oh let's say - Bush did before becoming governor and then president.

    Posted by Hman23 at 09/21/2006 @ 09:56am

38. Thanks for your comments. Here on Nantucket Island Deval got 800 votes in the primary election held here on Tuesday which I think is a record for a small town like this in a primary. Now we must redouble or efforts for the general election in November. Thanks again for your support. Larry Miller

    Posted by comphiblant at 09/21/2006 @ 5:29pm

39. Nobody who's commented seems to have paid any attention to the Killer Coke folks, who say Patrick was on Coke's board of directors at a time Coke was collaborating with rightwing death squads who were killing and torturing labor organizers to keep unions out of their Latin American plants. Patrick was apparently also associated with more than one law firm the business of which was to keep companies union-free. Also, until recently, Patrick was on the board of directors of the parent company of Ameriquest Mortgage, accused of predatory lending practices that targeted minorities. If these allegations are at all accurate, and they probably can be checked into easily enough, Patrick's liberal credentials are called into question, to say the least. That said, I personally, as a Mass. voter, may ignore all that on election day in order to finally have a Democrat back in the corner office, but in light of these very troubling allegations, I'm leaning heavily toward voting for the Green/Rainbow candidate, and I would urge others to consider doing the same.

    Posted by Hidari at 09/22/2006 @ 2:10pm

40. (Cambridge, MA). To the benefit of a vitriolic campaign-fatigued electorate and the dismay of Boston's punditocracy, a 50 year old, articulate, son of Chicago, a rags-to-riches African American lawyer named Deval Patrick, has added a significant historical, if not philosophical dynamic to the Massachusettes politics. He's jolted the Old Guard and added a "wow" factor to what could have been business as usual by securing the Democrat Party's convention endorsement, followed by a smashing primary campaign victory, defeating the Commonwealth's Attorney General Tom Reilly and millionaire venture capitalist Chris Gabrielli, the latter investing $8 million of his personal money into the race.

    It's Massachusetts…Plymouth Rock is here, and it's home of the Adams family, John, Abigail, and Sam; Massachusetts, its Harvard and M.I.T. and the Head of the Charles Regatta; its home of the Kennedys, Senator Edward M. "Teddy" and his sainted brother, ‘Smilin' Jack THE President; its home of Arrowsmith, it's lobster, it's Martha's Vineyard and Carly Simon five miles off its coast; Massachusetts, home of the Bulger brothers, William and "Whitey", one a classical Greek and Latin scholar who controlled the State Senate with grace and an iron hand and later presided over the Commonwealth's university system… the other now on the F.B.I's most wanted list ‘cause he chose to be a gangstah'; here the "son of Greek immigrants", became the longest sitting governor in the State's history and garnered his political party's nomination for President of the United States; Massachusetts, "home of the Cabots and Lodge, where the Lodges speak only to Cabots, and Cabots speak only to God." Here, where news of a thing called "busing" went global with a Pulitzer Prize winning photo of an angry mob of whites slamming the stars and stripes into the face of a black public official on Boston's City Hall Plaza; here where cultural divide's take generations, if ever, to mend; here, where modernity comes to die, one of the nation's more transformational, and possibly costly, elections is unfolding…more in tango fashion than in a Woodstock love fest. Like Mr. Patrick's childhood neighborhood, or an underground cock-fight, it's not a place to fuck around…politically at least.

    "It's time for a new way in politics; leadership that is both candid and hopeful, that looks toward the best long-term interests, that takes the best ideas and the best people from all corners – no matter their party, that is less focused on the left and the right and more focused on right and wrong", Candidate Patrick reminds the increasing numbers gathering about him. "It's time for a new way in our Commonwealth…time for universal health care, world class public education, and a new chapter in our innovation economy that leaves no one behind", he says. "We cannot fuel our future on the fumes of the past. But we can learn from the example of those who brought us to this point, and we can choose a different path to move Massachusetts forward."

    Truth is often larger than fiction in Massachusetts politics, and may prove to be in this governor's race. But never write off the fictional end of things, e.g. Camelot, etc. It's an open seat, and now he faces Kerry Healey, the Republican Lieutenant Governor, who stood unopposed in her faction. A Copeila figure with Junior League leanings, Ms.Healey has stood far and deep in the shadow of the incumbent, Mitt Romney. Mr. Romney, completing one term, has opted out of a second opportunity to govern Massachusetts and has chosen instead, to explore other, higher political possibilities. The Commonwealth frequently infects it's politicians with such ambition, often in a painful and Promethean fashion. Ms. Healey, a Harvard graduate with a Doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin, "married well", yet was, as they say, "beat like a rented mule" in an earlier attempt at elected office (the State Legislature). She became chair of the State Republican Party, later to be picked up by Mr. Romney, breaking with tradition, to balance his ticket early on. In Massachusetts, the governor and lieutenant governor run separately in the primary contest. Since announcing her intentions to seek the governorship, Ms. Healy, or perhaps her handlers, has presented a more aware, or at least awake and active, posture from her early tenure as Lieutenant Governor when she explored shortening the school week to balance the budget. Some polls have reflected her as "out of touch" with the electorate. Brian Mooney, a Boston Globe reporter and co-author of a political bio of Massachusetts junior U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John Kerry, referred to Ms. Healy in an article as "a pretty Harvard woman". A Harvard woman, yes. The latter gives pause and question as to where Mr. Mooney spends his leisure time. Nonetheless there's a difference between political blur and Election Day truths. Illusions about liberalism have been shattered by the State's two time national roll with Ronald Wilson Reagan, and in spite of the "out of touch" chatter, a sour, bitter Democrat primary day can yet hand her the office, and enshrine her the fourth consecutively elected Republican, in spite of lessons one would have thought the Dems would have learned by now to knock down that cockade she wears and the canon she appears latched to.

    I first caught up with Deval Patrick as he shared the news of his youngest daughter's enrollment in a different secondary school with a couple of well wishing parents. He turned and chuckled, "never a dull moment", and without missing a beat responded to a statement by one of his Democrat primary opponents. "We do need independent judgment in the Governor's Office. I don't think that discontent with Republican's is going to be enough to insure a Democratic victory, nor do I think it should be", continuing to the gathering media scrum. "This ought to be about creative leadership and vision."

    With that Mr. Patrick took a seat to await his "turn" to address members of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC), a not-for-profit organization providing support for the Commonwealth's broad biotechnology community. Waiting his "turn", in the political genre is, not something Deval Patrick necessarily views as a requisite…anymore, if ever, in his mind set. He is no docent for the Democrat's museum.

    cont.

    Posted by jefferymcnary at 09/22/2006 @ 5:14pm

41. At 14, a young Deval left the "hood" for Milton Academy, an upper-middle class prep school in Massachusetts, on a scholarship. This was followed by another scholarship, this time to Harvard College, followed by a stint in the Sudan as a volunteer in a United Nation's sponsored initiative, followed by a return to Cambridge, and law school.

    In his recent visit to Boston to endorse Mr. Patrick, his friend Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said, "He is somebody that has excelled both in the public sector and the private sector. He's doing this for the right reasons." But it's Massachusetts, where many political sir names still end in vowels and yellow school buses continue to evoke memories of an ugly autumn years ago, and as hard as some try, change has not come easy. When pressed on the issue of race in Massachusetts, the Senator responded, "I think it's useful to remember that there have only been three African-Americans elected to the United States Senate since reconstruction. The first was Mr. Edward Brooke, right here from this state, decades before Carol Moseley-Braun and myself were elected. I think that's an indication of the fact that the people of Massachusetts judge their candidates based on whether they think that candidate is looking out for their interest. And I'm confident that when they have a sense of Deval's record and what he stands for they will rally behind him."

    Mr. Patrick, like Sen. Obama, graduated from Harvard Law School. And like the Senator, has emerged as part of a cadre of young, articulate and well educated African-Americans currently seeking and achieving high political office. In Tennessee, Congressman Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) is seeking a U.S. Senate seat. Maryland's Lieutenant Governor, Michael Steele is a strong contender for the U.S. Senate there. Ken Blackwell, Ohio's Secretary of State, is now the Republican standard bearer for Governor of that state, as is former NFL star Lynn Swan in neighboring Pennsylvania. The youthful Cory Booker, a Yalie and Rhodes Scholar, was recently elected Mayor of Newark. All have "cross over" appeal, code for white folks can vote for them.

    Expressing his support of Mr. Patrick, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), stated, "Race is important also for us as Democrats. African-Americans are an indispensable part of the coalition that Democrats need if we are to be able to win elections and carry out the policies to which we are committed. No Democrat", he continued, "should be happy at the fact that in America today, so far only the Republican Party has nominated African-Americans for statewide office at the highest level – for the Governorship in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and for the Senate in Maryland." Mr. Frank, an influential member of the state's congressional delegation didn't leave out that, "by the nature of his high intelligence, his energy, his ability to articulate, and his experiences he is both the best candidate for the Democrats to nominate and the best qualified to serve as Governor."

    Mr. Patrick doesn't hesitate to share his story of living in poverty as a child on Chicago's gritty South-Side, the bedroom he shared with his mother and sister in which they rotated from the top bunk to the bottom bunk to the floor every third night in attempts at fairness, it's single window which faced an air vent, his uncle Sonny, who "would shoot-up heroin in the living-room when he thought nobody was watching", the ever present tension and often violence of the local schools, and the sense of community that prevailed through it all. The air thickens when he recounts this period. However race, in many ways a systemic cause of these phenomena, is not at the center of his campaign. "Race is a fact, a part of America, and I'm proud of my ethnicity", he shared with a small gathering of college Democrats, "but I'm a pretty good lawyer, and I'm proud of that, and I'm a husband of twenty years and I'm proud of that, and I think I'm a pretty good father and I'm proud of that too." Victimology refuses to find a place in his spiel.

    Attorney General Tom Reilly's, the early perceived front runner's approach differed radically from Mr. Patrick's. The "son of Irish immigrants", was referred to by pundit Frederick Clarkson, as epitomizing, "an imperious and money-driven approach to politics that is riding a long arc into the dustbin of history. The Deval Patrick Campaign", he continued, "is shortening that arc in Massachusetts." Understanding Mr. Reilly, for the most part, required capturing the missteps of his effort, an outing of which the term "campaign" sometimes appeared an oxymoron. His "story" lurched, his initial career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), years as an Assistant District Attorney, a District Attorney (in a County in which he was routed by the Patrick organization in the caucuses), to his current Attorney General position in the Commonwealth. Although well funded by years of fundraising and roaming the periphery of the state's political machinery, Attorney General Reilly, came across as not ready for prime time and appeared caught flat-foot by formidable challenges. His wavering and shifting positions on same-sex marriage (con, now pro), his intervention into the investigation of an alleged alcohol related fatal traffic accident involving two daughters of a high dollar contributor, and his selection of an un-vetted running mate with a history of tax issues and un-paid student loans, have contributed to the lack of inertia in his quest, and has made for a bad session. "Politics isn't my best suit," he's said on a raw occasion, and when asked further about the contest frequently replies, "I'm right where I want to be." It appears fitting, on occasion, that a slogan "dammit, can't you see I'm trying to get elected governor" would have best fit his buttons and bumper stickers. With his characteristic, "I know the people of Massachusetts. His public service is noble, if not notable. Yet his judgment appeared to have collided with his ambition, spooking early establishment types who considered him a certainty, and blowing at least one tire, if not more off his vehicle. Driven to the centrists, or right, of the Party, if such a place or crew exist, he began to lash out, turret-syndrome like, at his own party.

    Massachusetts voters are meta-political, if nothing else. There is a co-presence shared between the elected and the electorate, an unusual intangible that differs from the otherness or dualism of other places. Campaigns occur yearly in the Commonwealth. One mayor's "fight" rolls into the next year's gubernatorial and congressional engagement. Just ask Christopher Gabrieli, the third in the trio of Democrat candidates. Mr. Gabrieli, a multi-millionaire venture capitalist has invested large amounts of dollars to start-ups and most recently into a foundation, Massachusetts 2020, targeted to expanding "after school programs". He has done…honorable things, both for "the Party" and the burgeoning, chic and needy not-for-profit industry in the State.

    Chris Gabrieli is, for the most part, spoken highly of in those circles. He promoted his "ideas", and "results" and appeared to value public service. Other than that, his experience came across as inflated, narrow, limited to board rooms, trusts, and foundations. He's served on boards, and boards, and boards. And he's tossed millions of his own dollars at issues and at candidates, and when the last Democrat nominee for governor picked "Chris" as a lieutenant governor candidate, he dropped $5 million of his own cash into the loosing ticket. The very next year, Mr. Gabrieli invested $5.5 million of his personal wealth into his own congressional race. In a field of nine, Christopher Gabrieli came in sixth, statistically costing him near $1,000 a vote.

    Given his success and personal wealth as a venture capitalist, he appears to require corrective lenses to get a better view his revivalist stage play. Returning impaired to the tumbling waters of the Commonwealth's politics, Mr. Gabrieli's yo-yo hesitated early, unsure as to where and how he'd play in the campaign sandbox. He'd been seriously courted by, and waltzed briefly with, Candidate Reilly for the lieutenant governor slot on his ticket. But he'd arrived at the altar all dressed up minus a groom. The Attorney General had down-shifted at the 11th hour, opting for an embarrassing other, leaving "Chris" publicly, without a show of love, and on a weekend, and dis'n him as though they'd never dated. Shortly after that Mr. Gabrieli announced his candidacy for governor, injecting $2.8 million early on, of his own money, into that start-up, and ultimately throwing $8 million into his loosing effort, a record in the state. It seems he didn't want to be nobody's "bitch"…but he managed to crawl out of this a three time looser, and it's an awfully costly venture just to learn it's Massachusetts politics, not a brothel he'd roam in and out of.

    "Although we're thought of as a ‘blue state'…there are more Independents than Democrats and Republicans combined", Deval Patrick reminded those at a gathering in late Spring. "People aren't buying into either party. Democratic registration is down because the national party is so vague." This may be only partially on target. Some long time activists as well as elected officials have referred to the three Democrats as "fuzzy" on the issues. Massachusetts hosts the most formally educated population in the Union, with 33% of eligible voters holding a Bachelor's degree or above. 36% are registered Democrats, 13% Republican, and 50% Independent, or "un-enrolled" as many Party regulars cynically refer to them. This, statistically at least, leaves the door open for a beaux arts thing, with Grace Ross, the Green-Rainbow Party Candidate, and Christy Mihos, a wealthy Warren Beatty look-a-like Independent and Dadaesque figure to alter the parlor floor of the general election now that the Democrats have cut in on one and the other and turned to face Ms. Healey for the next seven weeks.

    There were more than a few trip wires, matters many of their handlers wrote off as horseshit. The Boston Globe ran a story accusing Mr. Gabrieli of "guilding the results" of both his initiatives in job creation and lobbying efforts around embryonic stem cell research legislation. State Representative Dan Bosley, who chairs the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, was quoted as lauding Mr. Gabrieli's support, but added "…at that point, we had the votes anyway." The Globe has gone on to highlight the candidate's support of "one educational innovation", Advantage Schools, of which Mr. Gabrieli was quoted as saying, "I consider Advantage a failure, of course, not a total failure but more a failure than success."

    Attorney General Reilly's bliss-out began early on, and his campaign found itself on rush-roller, in de-orbit. The Commonwealth's Legislative and Executive Branches frequently talk past each other. Nestled into the toxic canard of the past, with his stumbles on more than one major prosecution, including that of Boston's former Bernard Cardinal Law and others involved in that Diocese's child abuse scandal, Mr. Reilly's faltering effort and it's awkward grasp for life support just couldn't save him.

    Mr. Patrick's professional history did not go unchallenged, taking criticism as to his roll at Coke's legal team which squashed charges of human rights abuses in Columbia and India. Texaco was accused of being at the root of an environmental disaster in Ecuador over 20 years while he served as a corporate exec. After leaving, Texaco successfully halted the attempt to pursue legal action in U.S. courts. His position on the board of Ameriquest, a scandal ridden mortgage company, has also come under fire.

    Nonetheless, Mr. Patrick's appeal to the electorate has held and appears seamless. In March of '06, polls had Mr. Patrick at 21%, Mr. Gabrieli at 8%, and Mr. Reilly at 43%. In May '06, Mr. Patrick was at 15%, Mr. Gabrieli at 25%, Mr. Reilly at 37%. By July '06, Mr. Patrick was at 35%, Mr. Gabrieli at 22%, and Mr. Reilly at 19%. After being substantially out-spent by his rivals, Mr. Patrick managed to connect with voters vertically and horizontally, finding himself a week from the primary election with 45%, Mr. Gabrieli at 29%, and Mr. Reilly at 21%, and election night with 50%, compared to Mr. Gabrieli's 27% and the Attorney General's 23%.

    His message of "hope", and sense of commitment and passion served him well. Kitty Dukakis, spouse of the former governor, said of Candidate Patrick, "He has passion (for service) like my husband…and probably more than Michael had in his first time running." When questioned on the impact of race in the campaign, Ms. Dukakis responded, "None. Practically zero. Not in Massachusetts."

    Yet the issue of race can't be downplayed in the Commonwealth. The place lacks post-modern advocacy. New England Cable News Network's, Jim Braude said, of the matter, "I am not so convinced (race will not matter) there just is not the history. People will say they are going to judge on the merits, but I am not convinced subliminally that that subliminal bias, whatever it is, is totally gone. It may be tiny on the margins. In a close election, it's not a non-factor."

    Now, however, Mr. Patrick and his cadre may do well keep an eye on that issue…as they approach a general election requiring a broader reach. His journey from Chicago to Harvard Yard may be a cakewalk when compared to his journey to Beacon Hill and the corner office. ###### jeffery mcnary is a massachusetts based writer who contributes frequently to rolling stone. he covered the 2004 election cycle for snapshoot 2004

    Posted by jefferymcnary at 09/22/2006 @ 5:16pm

42. My mother would love to trade the drama in Mich. for that of Mass. She'll take bean-town over the motor city any day.

    Posted by ACook at 09/22/2006 @ 10:49pm

43. Personally, I am in favor of resurrecting that tired old adage from the Right (albeit with a slightly different slant) "I'd rather be dead than red"... It's time people woke up and realized that this world is far too small for such BS as the fearmongers are slinging about. Although I don't think that an Obama-Patrick ticket could win the election, I would certainly give them my vote, and I am a 50+ whitebread male!

    Posted by woboyle at 09/25/2006 @ 09:31am