As Brown edges ahead in poll, Bill Clinton stumps for Coakley

Christian Science Monitor ^ | January 15, 2010 | Tracey Samuelson

[Mrs. Don-o]

Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) and state Sen. Scott Brown (R) are pulling out the big guns ...Former Democratic President Clinton and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani are both in Massachusetts Friday to campaign for their party’s candidate in the Jan. 19 special election.

...The Suffolk University/7News poll has found 50 percent of likely voters now support Brown, compared with 46 for Coakley.

[snip]

Mr. Clinton, who will attend two events with Coakley on Friday, is much loved in Massachusetts and has “a magical ability to motivate voters here,” says Charles Stewart, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He notes that Clinton has always had success fundraising in the state over the years.

Compared with Clinton, Mayor Giuliani may not seem to bring much star power for Brown.

But he’s the “one A-list Republican who has credibility ...to appeal to the state's large number of centrist, independent voters."

Massachusetts’ independent voters are an important demographic for Brown given that registered Republicans are only roughly 11 percent of Massachusetts voters. [snip]

This is exactly the right time to pull out the big-name endorsements. “Most voters, especially the most malleable, only start paying attention at the end of a race,” Stewart says.

Late Thursday, President Obama released a videotaped message [in which] Obama describes his current battles for healthcare, financial, and energy reform, before outlining what he believes is at stake in Tuesday's election.

"[Martha will] be your voice and my ally, which is why the opponents of change are pouring money into your state," Obama says. "They believe that by defeating Martha and replacing Ted Kennedy with her Republican opponent, they'll be in a position to tie up the Senate and prevent a vote on health insurance reform, financial reform, and other issues."

[Invincibly Ignorant]

Isn’t he supposed to be working the Haiti disaster?

I guess not. Good intentions always seem to be enough with these folks.

[twister881]

Those women had more b@!!$ than do the entire Washington press corps. Too funny...and of course DIRT-X-POTUS42 wasn’t embarrassed in the least...just trying to figure out how to score some phone numbers!

[shalom aleichem]

Well, maybe not McLame but are any Republicans helping Brown?
Kurt Schilling is helping.

[spokeshave]

Please....no more “Bill Clinton” and “stumping” sentences..

[billhilly]

When you think of Massachusetts, if you ever do, remember that only they and the District of Columbia voted for McGovern for President. In most election cycles, in that once great state, Republicans sat on their hands because of the Kennedy factor. They seem to be ready to change that equation.