The Hiller Instinct: Hiller Instinct: Governor's debate review

"Why do you believe your will is more important than the will of the people," Healey asked all candidates.

Healey and Mihos got into it again, after the first question of this debate, about rolling back state income taxes.

"You're wrong, first that you're the only candidate in this race looking to take the rollback to 5% initially," Mihos said. "I would like to do that too."

Grace Ross managed to get a word in.

"The reality is we've been under 16 years of no new taxes, and I don't know about anybody else, but I'm drowning in the no new taxes," Ross said.

Then Mihos and Healey mixed it up on health care. This time including Deval Patrick.

"Will you join me so we can, and we've got one, and Deval, I know he'll go anywhere. He'll go to a letter opening." Mihos said. "Will you too, and open up this process so we can see what your government is all about? Would you, are you with me?"

"No, I'm not with you," Healey responded.

After 2 debates Mihos's imitation of a pitbull is already wearing thin. It made him the loser of this debate and a candidate in need of a new act.

"All right you too," Deval Patrick said.

Once again, thanks mostly to Mihos, Deval Patrick cruised. Front-runner Patrick won this debate, because he lost absolutely nothing in it and may have gained some support by criticizing Mitt Romney.

"I'll tell you what I won't do, go all across America as Gov. Romney has, using Massachusetts as the butt of our joke," Patrick said.

The debate ended as it began, with Mihos and Healey bickering.

"Who's helping you in debate prep, Oliver Stone," Healey said.

"I'm looking at your record, I'm looking at your record," Mihos said.

If Kerry Healey isn't exasperated, she should be. Her campaign depends on detailing policy differences with Deval Patrick, and in this debate she wasn't able to. Illegal immigration, for example, wasn't even mentioned. For Patrick, meanwhile, this was just another painless campaign event, just another day at the office. If future debates go the same way the first two have, he's headed to the corner office on Beacon Hill.

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