FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2002 -- At least the colorful scene on Comm Ave prior to the marquee governor’s debate made it seem like a raucous Democratic Primary race for governor had broken out. The Reich Reform Express drove up and down the Boston University campus with blaring " it ain’t over ’til it’s over. " The campaign of Senate President Tom Birmingham bused over – in old-fashioned yellow school buses – scores of beefy labor activists to carry signs and holler, " Birm-ing-ham! Birm-ing-ham! " If the primary were to be judged simply on the volume of the chanting, Birmingham would be the clear winner.

Unfortunately, things inside the debate were not as action-packed. While the questions from panelists representing the stations that broadcast the debate, Joe Shortsleeve of WBZ, Anthony Everett of WCVB, Joan Vennochi of the Boston Globe, and Emily Rooney of WGBH’s Greater Boston, drew some spontaneity from the candidates, the candidates left the debate much as they came in: Treasurer Shannon O’Brien is still in the lead, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and former state senator Warren Tolman are still battling for " reformer " status (Reich was somewhat disappointing when he maintained there was a difference between calling Tolman a hack and saying his opponent was " acting like a hack … there is a distinction. " Hmmm. I guess it depends on what the meaning of " is, " is), and Senate President Tom Birmingham is banking on his career on Beacon Hill to deliver him to victory. With just 11 days until the election, O’Brien again performed at least as well enough to sustain her front-runner status. (A UMass poll is showing that support for O’Brien is now approaching 40 percent and that Tolman is in or nearing second place at almost 20 percent, a development accurately predicted in the Phoenix two weeks ago.)

When buffeted with claims of her closeness to House Speaker Tom Finneran – a liability in the race against Mitt Romney – by Tolman, O’Brien gave an effective response: she welcomes Finneran’s support, especially since it comes with him knowing she is " solidly pro-choice … willing to fight for Clean Elections " and she trumpeted her endorsements from the likes of key Finneran opponents in the House, such as state representative Dan Bosley of North Adams, and state representative Ruth Balser of Newton. When she confidently unleashed this answer, O’Brien seemed for the first time in the race to demonstrate a level of confidence commensurate with her high standing in the polls.

The presence, therefore, of Mitt Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom and Romney’s hand-picked lieutenant governor’s candidate Kerry Healey (who nonetheless claimed: " I was in the race before he picked me " ) foreshadowed the race to come after the primary. If Romney runs against O’Brien, at issue will surely be the state pension fund. In the debate’s final question, Birmingham cornered O’Brien into admitting that the pension fund fell from 14th in the state to 86th and is now in the last third. Unless Birmingham can translate O’Brien’s answer into absolutely eye-popping advertising, her admission can only work to the benefit Romney in the claim, currently being made on Republican radio ads, that her tenure at the Treasury is a " disaster. "

As I’ve written now not once, but twice, the GOP ads seem to make claims against O’Brien that go too far. Now that they are describing her time at the Treasury as a disaster, the question of performance at the Treasury is fair game. Luckily, Fehrnstrom was on hand to answer questions about whether O’Brien’s period at the Treasury represented " more or less of a disaster than the tenure of Treasurer Joe Malone. " (Malone’s work at the Treasury was marred by a scandal where his political allies stole more than $9.4 million from the lottery -- three former allies were convicted.) First try: " I think people are missing the real question here. It has to deal with effective management of the pension fund. An effective manager of the pension fund would have reduced our exposure to the equity markets in a downturn of the stock market. She didn’t do that. " Second try: " I’ll be happy to talk about Mitt Romney’s candidacy. Mitt Romney’s an outsider. He doesn’t have any ties to any politician or any political machine. No ties to the special interests. He’s ready to go up to Beacon Hill and talk about change. " Fehrnstrom also declined to criticize the GOP ads. " The state GOP is performing a very useful function as a watch-dog. If they see a candidate making claims that she’s going to clean up the mess on Beacon Hill, when in fact she created the mess on Beacon Hill, I think it’s appropriate for them to point that out. "

Fehrnstrom’s reluctance to characterize O’Brien’s time at the Treasury as more or less of a disaster than that of Malone’s is interesting in light of the fact that he himself once worked for the Treasury under Malone – a point that O’Brien did not hesitate to make when asked about the comparison.

" Let’s be very clear. Let’s look at the track record of Joe Malone, " O’Brien said, almost licking her lips. " There was a theft of $10 million at the state treasury. There were no internal controls before I got there. " Noting that Fehrnstrom worked formerly for Malone, O’Brien declared, " it’s clear to me that Mitt Romney is the new face of the old Republican establishment. "

How much of a true outsider Romney is will be a question for the general campaign no matter who the Democratic nominee is. But the Republicans, anticipating facing O’Brien, have now gone so far in trying to belittle her experience at the Treasury that they open their candidate up to questions about her Republican predecessor. Before that can happen O’Brien must continue to perform exactly as she did last night.