Deval Patrick is the canary in the coal mine for Barack Obama in 2012.And Martha Coakley is Deval's canary. And if I were Deval, right about now I'd be looking for the phone number of Herald veterinarian Dr. John de Jong.
The closer Scott Brown comes to winning the special Senate election next week, the worse it is for Deval's already-dim prospects for re-election. I mean, Martha has but a supporting role in what state Sen. Scott Brown calls "the machine."
As attorney general, Martha is the official custodian of the state broom. Whenever a hack gets in a jam - last week it was Dianne Wilkerson - Martha shifts into inspector mode, leaving no stone unturned, except of course the one the perp is hiding under.
Nothing to see here folks - move along. That's Martha's motto.
But the voters have figured out the grift - better late than never.
Consider what numbers Deval would be polling right about now if he were the Senate nominee. He's the nominal boss - figurehead, actually - of the state hackerama.
Deval et al had been counting on state Treasurer Tim Cahill's independent run to drain off just enough anti-Deval votes to re-elect him in November with, say, 41 percent. It's an interesting strategy. Gov. Jon Corzine tried it in New Jersey two months ago. He's now former Gov. Corzine.
Then Deval figured the economy would recover and save him - did anyone see the unemployment numbers Friday? Not even CNBC could put a shine on that sneaker. You can only say "unexpected" and "lagging indicator" so many times, especially when the real jobless number is more than 17 percent.
If Martha Coakley, who after all has built a career on not rocking the boat, is struggling to pull away, then what is going to happen next November to the guy who actually told the brain-dead voters of this state that he could improve their lives ... and cut their taxes?
You may be a Scott Brown voter if ... you've been wondering what Martha Coakley can start collecting for a state pension next month at age 56 if she's sworn into the U.S. Senate.
The answer is ... $41,000. I'm sure Martha would claim that she has no plans to do the double-dip, and I'm equally certain we can believe her.
Just like Deval Patrick was going to cut your property taxes. Just like Barack Obama wasn't going to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 ...