21st January 2010
A Week in Politics

The uncertainties that exist in the world of politics were highlighted Tuesday night in a special election that was held in the USA: the state of Massachusetts sought to fill the senate seat held by the late Edward “Ted” Kennedy until his passing away last year. Originally regarded as a safe seat for the Democratic Party, in the course of the final week, the polls took a dramatic turn, resulting in a Republican Party victory.
Somewhat reminiscent of the events that took place in the last general elections here in St. Lucia, where one would have bet his shirt on the SLP trouncing the UWP … until Sir John Compton made his persuasive – and as it turned out, decisive – appearance on television just prior to polling day, turning the tide and pulling off an historic surprise victory, the similarities were evident in this senatorial campaign, illustrated in this account published on the internet by CNN:
“Even before the polls closed on Tuesday night, Democrats were distancing themselves from Democrat Martha Coakley and blaming her lackluster campaign for her stunning loss in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.
“A top adviser to President Obama rejected assertions that Tuesday’s vote was a referendum on the president or Democratic policies and instead took a shot at Coakley: ‘Campaigns and candidates matter.’
“For weeks, Scott Brown had been the underdog candidate, running behind in the race to finish out the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s term.
“Trailing by double digits a little more than a week ago, Brown had edged ahead of Coakley, campaigning as the pickup truck-driving candidate, capitalizing on voter frustrations and vowing to send Obama’s health care bill ‘back to its drawing board.’