Nothing like putting the cart before the horse:
"Problems at home could hamper Patrick’s ambitions" by Glen Johnson |
Globe Staff, October 14, 2012
Governor Deval Patrick participated in a bus tour for President
Obama’s reelection campaign this weekend, but events back home are a
reminder that the road to the White House — for Obama now and,
potentially, him in the future — is littered with deep potholes.
The still-unfolding state drug lab case, and the revelation that a
state-regulated Massachusetts company was distributing tainted steroids
causing deaths across the country, have the potential to mar Patrick’s
aura of executive leadership.
See: Mass. Drug Labs a Mess
That will be his calling card when he leaves office in 2014 and
returns to the business world or, potentially, seeks higher office as a
presidential candidate in 2016.
The governor, a prominent Obama surrogate, went to North Carolina on
Friday to rally campaign staffers and volunteers both in the banking
center of Charlotte and the capital of Raleigh.
He then spent Saturday making whistle-stop visits to three Virginia
colleges: Hampton University, Old Dominion, and William & Mary.
University of Richmond Law School professor Carl Tobias says
deploying Patrick in such a manner makes perfect sense, given his
dynamic speaking style and the reaction he stirred with his address at
the Democratic National Convention.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that the Obama folks are hoping to
have very strong student support. That part of the state has a lot of
students and it’s a heavy voting area, so he’s likely to be very helpful
there,” said Tobias.
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Lip-Smacking Debt Collectors
Sure is a hard lesson learned, 'eh, kids?
A campaign statement announcing Patrick’s participation read like one
that could have been issued by his press staff back at the State House.
Obama “believes in investing in our future by reforming our schools,
producing more homegrown energy, rebuilding our roads, bridges and
broadband systems, and accelerating American innovation,” it said.
Where ya' been the last four years?
The “three I’s” in the governor’s own stump speech are investment,
infrastructure, and innovation, as in making the spending decisions
necessary to build a better-educated workforce and the industries vital
to a competitive economy.
The challenge is balancing the work on the road with the problems back at home.
From managing the state budget through a recession to fueling growth
industries such as biotech, Patrick has assembled a record over six
years in office that would make him an odds-on favorite for reelection
were he to seek a third term — something he has already said he will not
do.
But in a possible future campaign for the presidency, or even a
confirmation for, say, a Supreme Court nomination, problems with the
state Parole Board exposed after the killing of Woburn Police Office
John “Jack” Maguire, or the more recent drug cases, can mar Patrick’s
leadership narrative.
I'm so tired of public relations propaganda.
The Annie Dookhan case carries the specter of freeing more than 1,000
convicted drug offenders who could commit fresh crimes. The legal
system from which the Harvard Law graduate emanates, and which he could
join as a justice, for example, faces an epic trek to recovery.
Meanwhile, New England Compounding Center’s distribution of tainted
steroids is replete with similarly eye-catching numbers. Already more
than a dozen people have died, and there is a potential that some 14,000
more people are at risk for fungal meningitis.
The twin perils underscore why the governor moved swiftly in each instance.
He brought in David Meier, a respected former prosecutor now doing
criminal defense work, to oversee the investigation into the drug lab
case. Meier briefed reporters on Friday while Patrick traveled.
And the oft-placid Patrick did not equivocate this past week when he
accused New England Compounding of misleading state regulators by
performing work outside the scope of its license.
Both the governor’s official and political staffs say that going
forward, he will not be distracted even by the time he is spending
prospecting for Obama — and raising his own national profile. It starts
with a daily 7:45 a.m. conference call with his staff and continues with
e-mails, phone calls, and meetings through the work week and weekend.
“The governor is very aware that he has a day job,” said Alex Goldstein, who runs Patrick’s political committee.
“He has been very action-oriented, and people see he has been quick
and decisive and responding with the full force of the tools at his
disposal.”
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"Governor Patrick’s trips for Obama draw fire; As governor travels the country, critics say there’s plenty he could be doing here" by Michael Levenson |
Globe Staff, October 14, 2012
HAMPTON, Va. — This is the glamorous life of Governor Deval Patrick, campaign surrogate for his friend, President Obama.
On a swing through two college campuses in this battleground state on
Saturday, the governor spoke to small crowds, shook hands at Obama
campaign offices, and posed for photographs.
The governor has been traveling the country like this since January,
attending dozens of Democratic events from Washington State to Iowa to
South Carolina. Now, with polls in the presidential race tightening and
problems mounting at home, his travel has taken on added sense of
urgency and an edge of political peril....
The governor said his next trip may be to Hofstra University on Long
Island to join the media “spin room” after the next presidential debate
on Tuesday....
The governor, who was flying home to Massachusetts on Saturday night,
said he is not sure where else he may be sent in the coming days. “I go
where the campaign wants me,” he said. “It all blurs.”
Who is he serving, Massachusetts residents?
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He won't be getting my vote.
