"Undecided and unhurried"

or so that was the general feeling Humble Elias extracted from last night's 4th Middlesex State Senate forum sponsored by the redoutable spartans down at the Arlington Town Democratic Committee.
It wuz Hurd versus Donnelly, da statutes of da Commonwealth were tossed back and forth like medicine balls, no pledge was left unhurled, no question unanswered, no holds barred, it was democrats in full cry.
However truth be told, there is very little ideological distance between the two men, the are both pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, for increased education funding at the local level, they both want more money for special ed etc etc etc....youi've heard it all before.
The only issue on which they serious differ is interestingly enough, casino gambling. Jack Hurd opposes the Governor's recent proposal and would be open to a ballot initiative with respect to gaming in the Commonwealth. Ken Donnelly backs the Governor's proposal with a gusty blast about the need for the legislature to show "courage" and pass the bill.
That struck me as a bit of needless preening on Ken Donnelly's part...a jarring note to say the least.

Given the lack of policy differences between the two candidates one has the suspicion that the electorate will decide the nomination on other criteria, experience, sincerity and maybe even ghod help us...charisma.
There Ken Donnelly, despite some improvements in his pulpit style still falls short, he clearly reads boilerplate remarks off of index cards and has a tendency to fall into "outdoor voice" bluster especially when he gets onto his new favorite topic "social and economic rights".
Where Ken Donnelly does seem to have some props is in the area of higher education and he has boned up on the new state's healthcare law, the new polish clearly shows.

However, I'm almost tempted to score this forum in Jack Hurd's favor, he has a sort of low key charm that contrasts well with Donnelly's tendency to bluster.
Moreover in a district that is gentrifying if unevenly Hurd's core assertion that local aid i.e. state monies is pretty much the whole ball game in terms of the real expectations of the electorate. Whether or not any of that registers well with any of Jim Marzilli's now homeless liberals remains to be seen.
However both men have their limitations, Ken is clearly comfortable with a limited palate of issues (mercifully he managed to avoid the topic of pensions last night) while Jack, though a man of decency still seems to be punching above his weight in this race. It is hard to see either man making his mark in the senate in the manner of say, Bob Havern.
But the summer is long and they have time to make their case, Humble Elias is still listening.