http://www.thecjpoliticalreport.com/deval_patrick_a_cautionary_tale.htm"Patrick’s first year in office has been a train wreck. But that’s what happens when a politician runs as an “idea” as much as a “human politician,” these the words of journalist Charles Pierce in his must-read piece The Mis-Education of Duval Patrick in The Boston Globe."
"Deval Patrick and his good friend Barack Obama have much more in common than their prosaic words, the depth of the color of their skin, their Harvard backgrounds, and their female political opponents. Neither man can/could claim a mountain of legislative experience prior to their runs, although Patrick’s credentials were far more impressive than those of Senator Obama’s.
Patrick had served as an assistant attorney general in the Clinton Administration, best-known for heading the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Still, he had no experience in Massachusetts politics, and since all politics is local, and Patrick was seeking the Massachusetts governorship, his inexperience should have been an issue in the campaign. It wasn’t.
The electorate was too mesmerized by Patrick’s charm offensive, his promise of the politics of hope, and his “Yes we can,” campaign slogan to care about the particulars.
Where have we heard that before?
It is no coincidence that Patrick’s rhetoric is eerily similar to that of Democratic party presidential contender, Barack Obama. Both men's campaigns were/are conducted under the genius of political operative David Axelrod."