Talking Politics

The X factor

By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 24, 2009

Last chance
Punches may also be thrown in two televised debates that will kick off the last week of campaigning.

These back-to-back debates, taking place immediately after the holiday weekend, could be crucial. On Tuesday, WCVB will host a one-hour debate, while a consortium including NECN and WGBH will host one the following evening.

If Coakley's lead is solid, those debates should be largely irrelevant — as long as she doesn't screw up. But if there is an opening for a challenger to emerge and make this a competitive two-person battle, it will likely happen those two nights.

That could be the point when voters — who have seen plenty of Capuano and Pagliuca ads — first take notice of Khazei, who was deemed by many analysts to have performed well in the one previous televised debate.

Even so, Khazei could be hard-pressed to take advantage: he had only $500,000 cash on hand as of November 18. Capuano had $1.1 million, and Coakley had $1.9 million — while Pagliuca, with a personal fortune, presumably has as much as he wants at his disposal.

That means voters should be seeing plenty of the candidates' final pitches in the week after Thanksgiving — if they're not already distracted by their Christmas planning.

To read the "Talking Politics" blog, go to thePhoenix.com/talkingpolitics. David S. Bernstein can be reached at dbernstein[a]phx.com.

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Does Scott Brown’s victory mean doom for RI Democrats?
Republican Scott Brown's stunning victory this week in the race for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts has created something approaching panic in the ranks of Congressional Democrats.
How Brown won
As the Massachusetts US Senate election unfolded yesterday, all that the pols and pundits wanted to talk about was how Martha Coakley managed to lose the race. And there is plenty there to dissect. But there is another part of the story, and that is how Scott Brown managed to win it.
Chaos Theory
In less than two weeks, when Massachusetts voters elect Martha Coakley to the US Senate — let's not pretend that Republican state senator Scott Brown has any chance of pulling off the monumental upset — they will trigger a massive domino effect that has the state's political class buzzing with anticipation.
Coakley cashes in at the bar
It's no surprise that Martha Coakley has raised much of her money for her US Senate campaign from lawyers — that has been her professional and social circle for pretty much her entire adult life.
Capuano for Senate
After a telescoped campaign, Massachusetts Democrats go to the polls Tuesday to choose a successor to a legend, Ted Kennedy.
Ready to rumble
Last summer, the upcoming race that got most Bay State politicos salivating was the run for governor.
Coakley for Senate
When Massachusetts voters go to the polls on Tuesday to elect a successor to the late Senator Edward Kennedy, they face a choice that is as clear as the difference between black and white.
Tea-bagger Brown triumphs
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley may be a good person and a dedicated public servant, but thanks to her gut-wrenching loss to tea-bagging Republican Scott Brown in the race for the US Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy, Coakley is now — quite rightly — a figure of local scorn and national derision.
Rhode Island’s own stab at health reform
Health care reform, if it survives the election of Republican Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat, will make insurance accessible and provide a slew of new consumer protections for millions of Americans.
Bay State's top lobbyists
Nearly everyone in Massachusetts felt the pinch of the recession in 2009 — even Beacon Hill lobbyists had to tighten their belts.
The power of money
While a cadre of conservative Democrats continues to conspire with Washington's mendacious Republican minority to block national health-care reform, the nation's largest health-benefits company — amusingly called WellPoint — is going about its business of screwing policyholders and scoring record profits in the process.
Might as well jump
Last Thursday, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island — the last of his legendary clan in Congress — announced that he will not run for re-election.
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Topics: Talking Politics , Massachusetts, Eileen Donoghue, Ted Kennedy, More

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