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  • October 31, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    If you are over 18 years old and living in Massachusetts and you don't have health insurance, you are running afoul of the state's brand-spankin'-new health care reform law. In this week's issue of the Phoenix, my colleague Mike Milliard and I take a look at this mandatory insurance requirement, the first of its kind in the country.

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  • October 30, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    I ignored the September American Research Group poll showing Romney leading in South Carolina, because it just looked too much like an error: nobody jumps from single digits to 26% in a month. Plus, the same poll had Fred Thompson plummeting from the mid-20s to 10% at the same time. Couldn't be.

    Well, ARG's October SC poll purports to show the same dynamic: Romney 29%, Giuliani 23%, McCain 13%, Thompson 10%.

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  • October 30, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    The Boston Globe endorsed challenger John Connolly, and only John Connolly, for at-large city councilor today, refusing to endorse any of the four incumbents. Ouch!

    The Herald is a bit more predictable, endorsing three Irishmen (Connolly, Michael Flaherty, and Steve Murphy) and dissing the two progressive minorities.

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  • October 25, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    The current issues of two national magazines for the liberal elite intelligensia (and I mean that in a good way) both contain features by top-notch veteran political journos, both writing about the marketing of "Mitt Romney," a product now on sale in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina that bears some resemblance to an earlier prototype previously available, under the same brand name, here in Massachusetts.

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  • October 24, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    According to the "Five Brothers" blog of Mitt Romney's sons, Tagg and Ben Romney will be at the Red Sox game tonight. So, are they good luck or bad?

    Update: Obviously they are good luck. Th sons of Romney must attend all World Series games!

  • October 22, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    In discussing the issue of Jon Keller's attribution in "The Bluest State," my friend and former Phoenix cohort Dan Kennedy recently observed that, for good or ill, it is common practice in general-audience trade publishing to not provide sourcing for public-domain material, broadly defined. He was challenged to document that assertion; he understandably responded that he didn't have that kind of spare time.

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  • October 20, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    The Family Research Council's big "Values Voter Summit" in DC this weekend included a straw poll, which Romney won in a squeaker over Mike Huckabee. Huckabee was the clear favorite of those actually in attendance -- beating Romney 488 to 99 in the ballots cast on-site, according to a Chicago Tribune report -- while Romney made up the difference among FRC members who voted online.

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  • October 17, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Right after Deval Patrick got elected last Novemeber, I wrote this cover story about "Deval's New Hampshire Dilemma." At the time, a number of folks told me Patrick would be crazy to get involved in the Presidential race, but we now learn that he will soon endorse Barack Obama.

    Will that translate into a rush of Deval's grassroots across the border to help Barack in New Hampshire? That remains to be seen.

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  • October 17, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Progressive, African-American Governor Deval Patrick will throw a fundraiser late this month for white, Irish city councilor Stephen Murphy -- punctuating Murphy's rebirth as a pol for New Boston. Then again, Murphy was just featured in a Howie Carr column that depicted him visiting Dapper O'Neil. I write about Murphy in this week's Phoenix, out tomorrow but online now:

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  • October 17, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    Based on preliminary, unofficial data:

    1. A poll taken immediately after the primary had Tsongas at 51%; she appears to have ended there. Exactly as in the primary, she never gained a vote along the way; never convinced an undecided voter.

    2. Tsongas won because of a liberal upper-middle-class suburbia vote; aka an Acton/Concord/Sudbury/Wayland vote; aka a Middlesex vote; aka a Cambridge-extension vote.

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  • October 17, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    Niki Tsongas eked out her victory today; I'll hold off on analysis until I know a little more, but for now congratulations to her and her campaign team, and a nod to Jim Ogonowski and his team for making it close.



  • October 17, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    I've long thought it is inappropriate for the Boston Police Department's communications folks to try to put funny headlines on stories on their blog (BPDNews.com) -- for two reasons: A) it's not right for the agency processing the accused to publicly mock them, and B) this is the same forum where they're also reporting stories of people traumatized, injured, or worse.

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  • October 16, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    I'm afraid I don't have much of a read on the big 5th CD election today. Apparently turnout has been light in the Merrimack Valley, where you would expect Niki to have the most trade in name recognition, and heavy in Chelmsford and Concord, which are typically a little more conservative. But then again, those northern cities harbour a lot of immigration resentment (people will tell you to your face that the Latinos have ruined Lawrence), so maybe low turnout up there is a sign that the issue isn't motivating people to the polls, as Ogonowski hopes.

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  • October 15, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Joe Biden will hold a press conference in Boston tomorrow afternoon to announce local endorsements. I don't know who they'll be, but he's got a pretty good batch of supporters in the city, thanks to his long relationship with Larry Rasky. Jack Connors and Chad Gifford are also Biden supporters.

    Meanwhile, up in New Hampshire, Kathy Sullivan has finally ended the not-very-suspenseful suspense and announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

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  • October 12, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    To tell you the truth, the most annoying thing about this bruhaha so far, to me, was Donny Deutsch going on the Today Show this morning to talk about how the media should all stop paying attention to Ann Coulter. Hmmm... maybe Step One should be that we should stop paying attention to Donny Deutsch talking about the need to stop paying attention to Ann Coulter.

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