Mike Barnicle could be the early leader in the race for the lamest excuse for a Dem loss. On today's Morning Joe, Barnicle claimed that the death of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino "disrupted" the Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign, and that but for it, Martha Coakley might have "pulled it out."
Really? Menino might not have been the most silver-tongued speaker, but the five-time Beantown mayor was a popular figure in the Bay State. It's not hard to imagine that far from hurting Coakley's campaign, Menino's passing might have prompted some sympathy votes for her, a fellow Dem.
Note: Later, Barnicle did have something interesting to say. In the show's "What Did We Learn Today?" closing segment, Barnicle said that for Dems to make progress, Harry Reid has "got to go."
Note Segundo: As you'll see from the screencap, Tom Brokaw was perhaps less than entirely enraptured by Barnicle's insights.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Mike Barnicle, we got to talk about your home state. A Republican wins the governorship again. Only one Republican is allowed to win an election in Massachusetts every four years, and it always seems the governor. Martha Coakley lost again. It has to be difficult for her this morning.
TOM BROKAW: She ran a terrible campaign, though, right?
MIKE BARNICLE: She's a really nice person. She didn't run the best of campaigns. But I would hate as we talked earlier about--state senator from Texas who lost --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Wendy Davis.
BARNICLE: Wendy Davis. To see them brutalized for losing an election is horribly unfair . . . The death of the former mayor of Boston, Tommy, disrupted the campaign. Martha Coakley, may have, she may have pulled it out.
