Monday, October 16, 2006

Healey's non-denial

There was a fascinating phrase buried on page B7 of the Globe yesterday. At a campaign stop in Beverly, Kerry Healey had this to say about Deval Patrick's clear implication that her campaign was behind the Bernard Sigh story:

"We had absolutely nothing to do with the Herald's description of this information." [emphasis added]

Ponder that formulation for a moment. Healey's statement would be true if, say, her campaign had obtained Sigh's criminal history and anonymously delivered it to the Globe (which passed on the story) and the Herald (which didn't).

Healey's tepid remarks are especially striking because her campaign manager, Tim O'Brien, has been so much more emphatic. (Saturday's Globe quotes O'Brien as follows: "This campaign had nothing to do with the story. This is a wild accusation without any proof.") So why is the LG choosing her words so carefully?

10/16/2006 11:15:36 AM by Adam Reilly | Comments [2] |

Monday, October 16, 2006 11:31:39 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Donning my tinfoil hat for a moment ...

O'Brien says they had nothing to do with "the story." Well, the "story" was the state telling Sigh he hadn't registered, and that he had to. But apparently, the "anonymous" tipster went to the press, not the state -- it was the Globe's call to the SORB (or CHSB, I forget which agency they called) that resulted in Sigh getting the letter saying he had to register. So maybe O'Brien's statement is technically accurate even if the original tip DID come from them! </tinfoil hat>

David

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 4:38:34 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Finding Healey's fingerprints on this story would be an absolute knockout blow for the LG. The blatant cynicism associated with such a leak would jack up her already high unfavorables and even more importantly, she'd be caught in a bold (or is it bald) faced lie!! (paging Gary Hart.)

Fanning

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