Hey, baystaters, is Patrick off to a less than stellar start or

[cali]

it all being blown out of proportion. I keep seeing stories about his cadillac and office furniture and now that he's paying 72,000 a year for a chief of staff for his wife. How is all this playing in MA?

[saltpoint]

1. I say give him another two weeks, and if he isn't note perfect by then,

hang his ass.
_____________

For Christ's sake. He's only been in office a very short while. Show some patience.

[cali]

3. Look, it appears he's made some rather

neophyte type errors. And all I was doing was asking MA folks how this is playing and whether or not it's serious. I hate to break this to you but one can screw up in a short period of time.

[saltpoint]

5. One can. But it's no reason to place the man in a bad light.

He's been there a month.

[Atman]

4. "Show some patience?"

Why? For what? Patrick didn't seem to have any trouble finding the time to order drapes and an armored Caddy and hire staff for his wife. What exactly are people supposed to be "patient" for? Are Mass residents supposed to wait until he's all good n' ready, after he's redone the governor's mansion, or what? He wasn't elected to set up a cushy crib for himself and his family, for chrissake! So far (I'm a former Bay Stater, just down the road near Hartford now), I'm not at all impressed. He's just doing the same ol same ol.

.

[saltpoint]

6. Sorry. All new governors order draperies. Nothing new there.

A few bumps, maybe. Reason to blast him? I'm not seeing it.

[Atman]

7. Well, they should stop.

They're only fucking draperies, and they should last for a hundred years if cared for properly. Somebody joked that he should just get "curtains" from Bed, Bath & Beyond, but that doesn't work...drapes for the oversized mansion windows cost thousands, and there is simply no reason to replace them each time a new governor moves in. It is stupid waste of money.

.

[saltpoint]

9. I'm not into fine draperies myself, but I don't see strangling our

Democratic governors with the issue.

That's all.

I like Patrick, and am glad he won, and am further happy that Mitt Romney is gone from the Bay State so my friends and colleagues who live there don't have to suffer Romney's nonsense anymore.

I'd like a lot of changes in the world, but in the off-chance that things don't go my way all the time, I try to prioritize emergencies. I think Governor Patrick should be afforded a big-picture evaluation and not until he's been in office for a more sustained period.

[cali]

8. Not true.

I can't even imagine the uproar in Vermont if a new guv ordered 12,000 dollars of new draperies and thousands and thousands more on new sofas and other furniture at taxpayers expense. It would never happen. That he now says he'll pay for it himself, shows that he screwed up. And sorry, an armor plated cadillac seems over the top. And he initially wanted to charge tax payers for that, before he was called on it.

[saltpoint]

10. To some it probably does seem over the top, cali. Perhaps not to

Mrs. Connelly or Mrs. Kennedy, though.

Governors are elected by the people, and occupy the people's office. Should presidents not have a secret service detail? Should area rooftops not be scanned and monitored for campaign stops?

There's a media reflex that attacks Democrats for "excesses" while allowing Republicans to do far more of the exact same thing with impunity.

That's my hinge.

[cali]

11. I think that comparison is spurious.

Governors are not Presidents. Connelly and his wife would have been at minimal risk had they not been with the Kennedys.

And that the press may be more inclined to attack dems for the same kind of behavior that repukes demonstrate, is all the more reason to walk a very straight and narrow line when it comes to this sort of thing.

[saltpoint]

12. Perhaps we should elect only Buddhists to public office, then.

I think the comparison is right on. A bullet has no idea who it's aimed at, Cali.

[cali]

15. OK, we disagree here. I just hope that Patrick

governs wisely and doesn't continue making avoidable mistakes that make him look bad.

[saltpoint]

17. I'm for that. It's refreshing not to have to wade through Mitt Romney's

bullshit in the Bay State. Friends there were growing really weary of Mitt.

Up to the point where they'd lunge for the radio dial anytime he was on.

I can't really blame them.

[Marrah_G]

21. It's not a huge deal

He made mistake, apologized and made good on it financially. It will be forgotten here in Mass in short order.

[meegbear]

2. Both ...

the Dems don't care and the repugs are having their obligatory bitchfest.

[sniffa]

14. the boston heraLd has been fLogging this for a week

with stupid, 6inch headLines such as:

IT'S MY CHOPPER AND I'LL FLY IF I WANT TO

NOW A DEVILLE FOR DEVAL

[wicket]

16. The Herald makes great fish wrapper

:evilgrin:

[Old and In the Way]

27. I'll bet the Herald was all over Romney, too.

:sarcasm:

Sounds like a tempest in a teapot.

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. He's not doing himself any favors, that's for sure.

I hope he smartens up quickly.

[Tracer]

18. I can't quite believe that Patrick made such stupid mistakes.

Not only that --- but there was a LTTE in yesterday's Globe from a guy who had researched leasing a Cadillac, and it turned out that Patrick could have leased one for $700/month less than he did.

I don't get the complete re-do of the governor's office either.

The Mittster redecorated also and then took everything with him when he left.

Patrick ought to make some kind of rule that the daaaycor STAYS with the next gov.

[Marrah_G]

19. I don't think its that big a deal

And frankly i'd rather get the small shit out of the way first.

[curse10]

20. the only people that care

are the people that read the freakin' Herald. And only idiots read the Herald. Governors redecorate the mansion all the time. Mayors redecorate. I remember the huge fiasco when Wellington Webb re-decorated the mayor's mansion, and he was about to leave office! It's republican spin- along the lines of the uproar of Pelosi's airplane. Complete nonsense.

[Cobalt Violet]

26. Very true. n/t

[raccoon]

22. Patrick meaning Patrick Kennedy, Teddy's son? nt

[Sydnie]

24. Deval Patrick

the new Dem gov.

[raccoon]

25. Oh. My excuse is, I'm not a bay stater. :-) nt

[Sydnie]

23. The car is really a non-starter

He was given a list with two cars on it that he could choose from because of the needs of the State Police to add the armour to it. He did choose the slightly more expensive model, but who cares? It's manufactured rage as far as the car is concerned.

The drapes, again, a lot of manufactured rage.

His wifes assistant ... well, that might be a bit of a sticking point for him and that is the only thing he has not adjusted either. $72,000 is an awful lot to pay for her to have an assistant. Otherwise, as long as he doesn't step in it again any time soon, he should be able to weather this dust up just fine.

As usual, the media only tells you the reactions (such as the car purchased as opposed to the reason it was the one purchased) and very little else. They are not letting facts get in the way of the rage because, especially in MA, political rage sells lots of papers.