Massachusetts elected Governor Wonk and got Governor Empathy thrown in.

Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders et al. are outsiders who've mastered an old insider trick: bamboozling inattentive voters.

The Republican debate participants all projected seriousness last night, but understanding them is pure classic comedy.

Carpet bombing, nuking, murdering terrorists' family members, the indiscriminate killing of innocent children. Republicans Ted Cruz and Donald Trump aren't tough. They're immoral.

The editors of the New York Times, citing recent Gallup data and analysis, have suggested that because more than 40% of Americans in 2015 identified themselves as “independents,” rather than Democrats or Republicans the 2016 presidential election may turn more on candidate-centric factors. They quote Gallup’s analysis as follows: “[T]he lack of strong attachment to the parties could make candidate-specific factors, as opposed to party loyalty, a greater consideration for voters in choosing a president in this year’s election than they have been in past elections.”

This analysis reminds me of the line from the movie “My Cousin Vinny” when the judge denies Vincent’s objection. It is cogent, logical, and reasonable, but wrong.

As poll proliferation goes national Harvard's Professor Jill Lepore questions polling's value to our democracy.

John Henry just spent 217 million on David Price’s arm.  Surely, he has the money and mojo to demand those who deliver his prized paper enjoy basic labor protections. Fellow Boston Globe subscribers, guaranteeing this is the continuous coverage we actually need.   

There was a lot of pretend, deceit, manipulation, and lying in politics in 2015, but there can be only one winner of the coveted Jocelyn Hutt Award for Fraud in Politics.

Press and punditry have bestowed their first year grades and Charlie Baker is on the Honor Roll. But perhaps we should pause in our praise of the governor and take some time to congratulate ourselves.

In 2014 we saw political polling as a commodity in the saturated Massachusetts market. Poll proliferation has now gone national for two reasons: it helps the brands of media, polling firms,and universities; and it provides pseudo-news for a barely interested public.