The Travails of Martha Coakley
A campaign lacking in soul and a candidate lacking in heart.'

Presumably Martha Coakley, the Massachusetts attorney general aiming to be that state's next U.S. senator, has more political skill than she's demonstrated in recent days. She must be on a spectacularly ill-timed run of bad luck and rookie mistakes.

As Republican Scott Brown has roared from unknown to potential upset winner, Coakley came under fire for having her campaign largely go dark for weeks after the primary, but there was a certain logic to keeping a low profile during the holiday season; voters' minds are elsewhere. What's worse is what happened once the holidays ended.