Martha Coakley had been eyeing this seat for a long time. I was at the John Kerry Town Hall just days after the Kennedy funeral and she had her people out collecting signatures to get her name on the ballot. I thought at the time, that is was a little disrepectful to the Old Lion and to Mass voters who were still grieving. During the primary I voted for my Congressman Mike Capuano, who given the demographic that came out in force to vote, probably would have done better. He at least would have been shaking hands at Fenway on a cold December or January day.
My biggest problem with her is that she felt that she could just breeze into office and not earn it through on the ground "I feel your pain" campaigning. But she didn't and she deserves to lose. It just hurts because it's Teddy's seat and healthcare is on the line. That is the worst irony of all.