Friday, January 15, 2010

The Boston Globe: Let The Recriminations Begin

Even before a single election day vote has been cast, the recriminations are now coming fast and furious.  The Boston Globe correctly observes that Coakley badly misjudged her opponent and the political environment:

"After Attorney General Martha Coakley sailed largely unscathed through the Democratic Senate primary, her aides set a course for the general election that fit her status as the perceived front-runner: protect her statewide popularity, and ignore the little-known Republican opponent.

It turned out to be a major miscalculation.

With Democrats around the country now panicked about a neck-and-neck race with Republican Scott Brown, Coakley's campaign has suddenly been forced to tear up that strategy. She has pivoted into attack mode, targeting Brown and his record in TV ads, at events, and in news releases and interviews. She has expanded her presence on the campaign trail. And she has called in national Democrats to bail her out.

''They should have been prepared for this,'' said Michael Shea, a Democratic media strategist who worked for US Representative Michael Capuano, whom Coakley beat in the primary. ''You don't let someone creep up on you like he has.'' [Emphasis added].

Yes indeed. A major miscalculation win or lose.  Coakley has allowed such fear and worry into the hearts of Democrats everywhere that - even if she wins - they lose.

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