The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts State Senate President Therese Murray is considering dissing democracy by signing on to Senator Ted Kennedy’s proposal to have Gov. Patrick appoint a temporary senator to substitute for Kennedy in the months prior to a special election to fill his seat. The Boston Herald also has a blood-boiling piece about a state representative who’s all in favor of Kennedy’s pathetic proposal–and who “laughed when asked whether he would support the change if Republican Mitt Romney were still governor.” There needs to be a backlash–a serious backlash–against this sort of amoral arrogance in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Why would the Boston Herald apologize for a non-offensive, somewhat funny headline about Michael Jackson’s death? According to Boston’s FOX affiliate, “about a dozen” protesters showed up at Herald headquarters to complain about the headline. What’s there to complain about? Are we supposed to believe the headline was racist? Racist against which race?

As we have said before, Grace Ross would make a more appealing governor than the current occupant. Deval Patrick has been and is an abject failure as a governor. With the notable exception of auto insurance competition, Patrick’s tenure has been devoid of substantive policy initiatives. He has abrogated and/or ignored many of the themes and principles on which his candidacy was established. Essentially, he has become the thing he once claimed to abhor: A Beacon Hill insider. From the ridiculous (the Cadillac, the drapes, the furniture) to the seedy (Aloisi, the book deal, the “trivial” remark, the trip to Jamaica, Marian Walsh), the Governor is one of the most maladroit, tone deaf and insolent individuals ever to inhabit the political realm. And in Massachusetts, that’s saying a LOT. Now we have l’affair Marian Walsh, and a new set of adjectives to ascribe to the Patrick administration: prevaricators, fabricators, dissemblers. We can only hope that the administrations travails and subsequent collapse in public support comes not too soon for there is one more adjective to be added: “EX Governor Deval Patrick”. The sooner the better.

Dan Kennedy of Media Nation has an interesting roundup of pundit criticism of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. It would appear that the wheels are finally falling off Patrick’s Cadillac–but why?

Those who remember Patrick’s performance in his last public-sector gig–his star-crossed turn as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton Justice Department–aren’t surprised that Patrick has failed to deliver as Governor. However, even when he was stumbling in 2007 and 2008, he still seemed to be mentally into the job.

One has to wonder if Patrick is now suffering from the same burnout/boredom that affected his Republican predecessors. Boston Herald business writer Jay Fitzgerald once theorized that Patrick’s woes stemmed from his apparent inability to appease both factions of what he described as the “Hack/Progressive Alliance.” Maybe Patrick has decided that appeasing the “Hack/Progressive Alliance” isn’t worth the effort, and has decided to throw in the towel.

While those of us who voted for Kerry Healey or Christy Mihos anticipated that Governor Patrick would fail, it’s still somewhat stunning to see the man collapse as he has. I, for one, expected that he would feel an internal desire to succeed as Governor.

Will Patrick announce one day that he will not run for a second term?  It’s hard to imagine him seriously thinking that he could win again. The coalition that led to his 2006 victory doesn’t exist today. Patrick’s win was largely fueled by anti-Bush, anti-Romney, anti-GOP sentiment (though I agree with those who have argued that a progressive desire to combat a perceived racial imbalance in Massachusetts politics played a key role in Patrick’s win, “white guilt” alone didn’t get Patrick elected.) Bush and Romney won’t be factors in 2010; if Patrick decides to run for another term, the election will be a (negative) referendum on his performance.

Patrick was the perfect candidate for the perfect time: an articulate figure connected to an administration many Bay Staters were fond of, a staunch defender of same-sex marriage in an era where Democrat politicians like John Kerry were reluctant to come out in favor of the concept, a man with a compelling and inspiring personal history.

In a way, it’s kind of sad that the Patrick Administration turned out to be a disaster. If Patrick had proven his critics wrong, he would have been the most effective governor we’ve had in some time. However, Patrick’s legacy will likely be that of a man who vowed to change the system, and just ended up becoming part of it.

UPDATE: More from Jon Keller.