Sunday, November 07, 2010
The Aftermath
Though it's a little late, here are my thoughts on why Deval Patrick pulled off a victory that looked unattainable only nine months ago:
1.) Patrick looked like a candidate who wanted to win -- and win in the right way. He generally ran a confident, upbeat campaign and avoided outward signs of anger, self-pity or desperation. The few times I saw him on the campaign trail, he would walk into a room and behave like a man who truly wanted and needed every vote. His working a room or an audience was impressive to watch.
2.) The economy broke in his favor. The state and U.S. economies are a mess. But he could legitimately point to a number of signs showing that the Massachusetts economy was and is outperforming the nation as a whole. This was huge.
3.) The uninspiring campaign of Charlier Baker and the spoiler-role candidacy of Tim Cahill played right into Patrick's hands. Please don't tell me the final results mathematically showed that Cahill didn't matter. He did. Baker and his allies had to spend an enormous amount time, money and focus trying to knock down Cahill's once formidable numbers. Every minute spent on Cahill was a minute not spent knocking down Patrick's numbers.
4.) Massachusetts is a Blue State whose Democratic leaders got a huge wake-up call by Scott Brown's stunning upset win in January. Forget about Deval Patrick. Democrats knew what was coming toward all of them -- and they prepared for the worst. The Republicans and Tea Partiers pressed them hard on almost every front. Democrats weren't taken by surprise and pushed back hard.
5.) In the final 18 months or so before the election, Patrick seemed to have found a non-strident reformist and pragmantic stride in governing. I heard a lot of people giving him small credit for taking on public unions and pension reforms -- and it seems to have resonated enough to give people hope that at least someone was doing something about the obvious outrages on Beacon Hill.
Though it's a little late, here are my thoughts on why Deval Patrick pulled off a victory that looked unattainable only nine months ago:
1.) Patrick looked like a candidate who wanted to win -- and win in the right way. He generally ran a confident, upbeat campaign and avoided outward signs of anger, self-pity or desperation. The few times I saw him on the campaign trail, he would walk into a room and behave like a man who truly wanted and needed every vote. His working a room or an audience was impressive to watch.
2.) The economy broke in his favor. The state and U.S. economies are a mess. But he could legitimately point to a number of signs showing that the Massachusetts economy was and is outperforming the nation as a whole. This was huge.
3.) The uninspiring campaign of Charlier Baker and the spoiler-role candidacy of Tim Cahill played right into Patrick's hands. Please don't tell me the final results mathematically showed that Cahill didn't matter. He did. Baker and his allies had to spend an enormous amount time, money and focus trying to knock down Cahill's once formidable numbers. Every minute spent on Cahill was a minute not spent knocking down Patrick's numbers.
4.) Massachusetts is a Blue State whose Democratic leaders got a huge wake-up call by Scott Brown's stunning upset win in January. Forget about Deval Patrick. Democrats knew what was coming toward all of them -- and they prepared for the worst. The Republicans and Tea Partiers pressed them hard on almost every front. Democrats weren't taken by surprise and pushed back hard.
5.) In the final 18 months or so before the election, Patrick seemed to have found a non-strident reformist and pragmantic stride in governing. I heard a lot of people giving him small credit for taking on public unions and pension reforms -- and it seems to have resonated enough to give people hope that at least someone was doing something about the obvious outrages on Beacon Hill.
