Coakley Isn't Mediocre— But Her Campaign Is

If Martha Coakley loses in Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts, it will be a "well-earned defeat," writes Adrian Walker. She has, after all, ran a "lousy campaign," which is an explicable shame. "She is suddenly being savaged—especially in the national media—as mediocre, which she certainly is not. (That would be Scott Brown.) Popular just a few weeks ago, suddenly it’s as though no one quite knows how she got on the ballot."

Coakley is a "solid" attorney general, and words like "competent" and "methodical" accurately describe her, writes Walker at the Boston Globe. But now those same traits have become liabilities, and she hasn't been savvy enough of a campaigner to undo the damage. "It’s hard to remember a candidate for major office so afraid of revealing his or her personality," writes Walker. Mix in an electorate "tired of being told what to think and who they should vote for," and it adds up to trouble for Democrats. (More Martha Coakley stories.)