I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the copious coverage of a Democratic nominating convention I didn’t attend. From what I can make out, the Monday morning commentary seems to focus on 1) claims that Deval Patrick’s speech was all boilerplate; and 2) visions of party activists are sending the electoral chances of the Democratic party down the river by supporting Patrick. On both counts, I’m sympathetic to the complaints, but think they’re being too hard on Patrick: other candidates trade in boilerplate, too, just “hard-nosed,” instead of the touchy-feely variety. And I still can’t tell if Jay Fitzgerald is spot-on that Patrick is the wrong salesman for liberal policy, or if he would call anyone resolutely in favor of universal health care moonbat crazy.
In any case, the fact that all people are talking about is Deval Patrick suggests to me that he has a pretty good shot at winning the primary. Before you chime in with “party activists always support the fringe candidate”, remind yourself of the facts on the ground four years ago to appreciate how much as changed in the political landscape of the state.
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