The ants in their pants pundits have risen again.  Prof Warren is Senator Elect not the present Senator.  The issues to be voted on before January belong to Scott Brown.  It is his opportunity to show how "bipartisan" he can be by preventing filibuster gridlock on what needs to be done.  He should be asked if he will vote the will of the people of this Commonwealth and the nation.  It is not Democrats that have been obstructing assurance of desired American values but the alternative reality Republicans.  When Elizabeth Warren goes to Washington and raises her hand to be sworn in, gets a lay of the legislative landscape, that is the time to weigh in on legislative priorities.  The questions she was asked pertain to the lame duck session and she has no influence over that.  In the arena of the hurried news cycle that makes more mistakes than it should or overreacts to out of context statements it brings us poor government.  During the campaign Prof Warren stated the social values that need addressing and will turn it into legislative action at the right time.  In the meantime the pressure should be on Sen Scott Brown to understand what his defeat means.  He should use the time left to him to exercise his legislative duties accordingly.  It will give him a chance to truly show he is for us.  I believe Sen Elect Warren was extending a courtesty to those who must finish their term responsibly doing the people's work on their own merit.  

The ants in their pants pundits have risen again.  Prof Warren is Senator Elect not the present Senator.  The issues to be voted on before January belong to Scott Brown.  It is his opportunity to show how "bipartisan" he can be by preventing filibuster gridlock on what needs to be done.  He should be asked if he will vote the will of the people of this Commonwealth and the nation.  It is not Democrats that have been obstructing assurance of desired American values but the alternative reality Republicans.  When Elizabeth Warren goes to Washington and raises her hand to be sworn in, gets a lay of the legislative landscape, that is the time to weigh in on legislative priorities.  The questions she was asked pertain to the lame duck session and she has no influence over that.  In the arena of the hurried news cycle that makes more mistakes than it should or overreacts to out of context statements it brings us poor government.  During the campaign Prof Warren stated the social values that need addressing and will turn it into legislative action at the right time.  In the meantime the pressure should be on Sen Scott Brown to understand what his defeat means.  He should use the time left to him to exercise his legislative duties accordingly.  It will give him a chance to truly show he is for us.  I believe Sen Elect Warren was extending a courtesty to those who must finish their term responsibly doing the people's work on their own merit.  

She had to ask an aide "Can I say that?" she has zero experience and it's shows, we elected a Senator that will go to Washington and basically just do as she's told. The women decided it was more important to get a represenative that will protect their reproductive rights.

"she was far better than the other option" ??? Hardly, and only in the bleeding blue state of Massachusetts. Openness and honesty? Hah.

Brian - why do all of you press types care about style. She represents all of those who did not vote for her as well as her base. Did you really want to see a mouth-btreathing liberal who would simply further anger Brown voters? Unlike the other polished politicians you have seen, she was not raised as a candidate from birth.

Maybe she needs a TelePrompTer.

"I only said I wanted to help the lower and middle classes, I never said I wanted to mingle with this riff raff.  Quick, get me back to Brattle Street!!"  EW. Senator Elect

The press is upset because she acted like Bill Belichick: she gave you nothing but simple answers.

Usually politicians are long winded.  She is right to the point.  It is refreshing.

Have no fear folks. Sen. Elect Warren is just keeping the Kennedy seat warm for the next Kennedy. She will do what she is told to do.

Please don't speak for me, Mr. McGrory.  I value succinctness.  You should try it.

So during an "easy" press conference she doesn't elaborate enough on whether or not she'll have a diverse staff and she's being disrespectful? 36 hours after winning and months before she is sworn in and she is letting us down? How about we reserve some judgement for when she actually, you know, has the job. 

Perhaps you failed to notice that Elizabeth Warren is not the Senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown is.  He will be casting some very important votes in the next couple of months and my hope is that he and she will have some "discreet" conversations and explore how each of them can benefit the citizens of the Commonwealth in the most effective way.  When Mr. Brown became Senator Brown the seat was vacant.  He could say what he wanted to say without a care in the world. I respect her for respecting the fact that she is the senator-elect and Scott Brown has to be respected as the sitting Senator.  It will not be easy for either one of them but they need to talk and understand each other over the next crucial months and, if it is possible to do so at all, to do so quietly.

Great time Boston Globe to notice maybe she isn't what she is supposed to be.......

Brian weren't you a big supporter of Warren - why change after election day ?

You got what you wrote for-enjoy for the next 6 years

Mr. McGrory: Welcome back to the practice of journalism.

I am afraid that you have it right.  What we are seeing now is more of the reason she was kicked out of the agecy she created - -not only the  Republicans but also all of the Deomcrats were sick to death of her.

Congratulations to Prof. Warren for winning election.  That is an awe-inspiring accomplishment, period. But you can just look at her acceptance speech, and the way she barked "NO"! at her cheering supporters to quiet them, to see the real human being behind the "hammered by billionaires" root.  She makes John Kerry look like Ronald Reagan.

Now she will never, ever be voted out.  This is kind of a sad day for us, the chumps who voted her in.  Too bad there was not a columnist or two around to tell us more about her when we had time to decide.  Not that I am bitter.  Say hi to your rooster for me.  

This is what happens when you elect a rookie to a high level office.  We finally had a great, bi-partisan senator and you and other liberal voters kicked him to the curb.  We are stuck with her now and the state is once again a laughingstock.  Hold on to your wallets.

I won't accept any criticism of Senator Warren.  for god's sake the woman just took office.  Where the economy is concerned she probably needs to speak softly but WILL carry a big stick.  I have NO DOUBT NONE whatsoever she will work against the big money interests, big banks and big corporations trying to hoard all the cash and leave nothing for the 99%.

Leave the woman alone I say, and let her do her job.  She just got to there... SHEESH!

McGrory asserts that Warren was "better than the alternative" (i.e. Scott Brown).  Really?  Well, I guess we're going to find out if this over-caffeinated, hectoring schoolmarm really is a better alternative than the high-integrity, hard-working, respected, admired, accomplished, truly bi-partisan Senator whom she'll be replacing soon.  As it stands now, a woman who has spent her life in faculty lounges and wagging her finger at other people seems mighty uncomfortable with answering even the softest questions.  It's almost as if a woman who campaigned as a mouthpiece for the Democrat machine, parroting tired, narrow, cynical talking points built around contraception, class warfare, and the 'big banks', is suddenly discovering that she now needs to speak for people other than single women and the poor souls in Brockton and Lynn who are waiting for the next Kennedy to save them.  And, on the basis of the fact that she deferred to the governor on a question about defense spending, she may need to be educated on what Senators actually do, too.  She's likely to be a dismal Senator, mainly because she'll probably annoy the living daylights out of her colleagues within one month.  Of course, that won't matter to the fools who elected her.  The rest of us will have to console ourselves with the fact that she'll be fun to watch.

Gosh Brian, it must really stink when a politician answers each question and then stands ready for the next one.  Especially when those questions are either unremarkable ("how do you feel about the number of woman who were elected"), silly ("will your staff be diverse") or premature ("how do you plan to vote on the fiscal cliff").   She elaborated on her answers to the first; really, how does one answer the second without alerting the reporter to the fact he/she has asked a really stupid question ("of course I intend to have a diverse staff you twit"?  Or how about "no, I plan to have all older, smart, well educated women just like me"?) or the final one, which conveniently forgets that we have a senator at the moment who is in office over the next crucial two months, who will be the one actually voting and with whom she must work.  Good Lord, you guys in the media just really need to get over yourselves sometimes.  

For the sake of Massachusetts let us hope that the political commentators cut Senator-elect Warren a little slack. She isn't a Senator yet, must wait for two months to exert any influence on what the Senate does during that time, has to deal with the issue of what committees to be named to and a whole lot of other issues. Why try to give her a hard time after her having spent the better part of year achieving the result that is so important to this state.

You got what you deserve. She doesn't need you anymore or the people who voted for her. She is an eleitist. This is a perfect example of why she wasn't confirmed for the consumer post in D.C. Her behavior is perfectly consistent with the know it alls from Harvuud. Let's just see how bipartisan she will be in the Senate.

This is what happens when you don't give the press an easy column for the next day.

I didn't vote for her, and I certainly understand she is probably exhausted and even a bit nervous about the new responsibilities. However, I would have thought somebody who just spent 14 months of public speaking nearly every single day and facing cameras and microphones would be a lot more at ease after the election.

Of all her comments the one that puzzled me the most was "I was a lot more discreet as a candidate than I was in real life."

A politician who answers questions clearly, directly, and without unnecessary blather. Refreshing!

Brian,

You sounded like a sports writer from the old Record American newspaper ("The Daily Record") critisizing Ted Williams for the sake of attracting attention to your column.  No wonder Williams gave the f-nger to his critics while out in left field.

Hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah! What did you voters expect? You elected an academic who thinks she knows all the answers, and doesn't expect to be questioned. Don't worry, she'll be ready to answer lots of questions, once Harry Reid tells her what to say. Congrats, Massachusetts voters --- doing this and re-elected Tierney as well. You guys must be *so* proud!

Senator Warren (I love the sound of that), I believe that fighting for consumers and "the little guy" is built into your DNA. This will make you a force in the Senate, as a leader and a legislator. Such committment and passion will also undoubtedly lead to you saying things sometimes in a manner that might be not exactly how you intended, and might offer the opposition an opportunity to jump on you and twist your words. Guess what?? We don't give a rat's a__ what they say!! Let it fly, have some fun being yourself and saying the things that need to be said, and come to you naturally, and let your supporters deal with the stuff (as Joe Biden calls it). Congratulations and Good Luck!!!

"Still water runs deep" and Elizabeth Warren, our US Senator-elect, is not a loose cannon.  Get over the "Rah-rah years" of Scott Brown and the stroking of the media with printable crap.....This is what the voters overwhelmingly (8 pts) elected, Substance Over Style.  I look forward to hearing Elizabeth Warren tell me things that are meaningful, accurate, substantive and valid.  That's what a US Senator does.

How silly of her to forget that reporters who don't get what they want tend to react like a spoiled six year old who just found out he won't begetting any ice cream.

Brian you answered your question early in the article.  She is a hand puppet...."billionares and millionares, big oil, my father was a janitor...".  She has no ideas and even less style and charisma.  Lets be honest we all know that if Scott Brown had the exact same beliefs and voting record but had a "D" after his name he would have rolled Warren 70-30.  That is the fraud of the Massachusetts democrat electorate.  Good luck with this lightweight senator!

Maybe Warren is coming to terms with the fact that she will spend the next six years in the senate listening to hired  windbags giving meaningless speeches!  That is punishment enough for anyone!

What a stupid, petty column.  So Elizabeth Warren didn't run her mouth and ramble on with a bunch of meaningless platitudes and now some reporters seem to have had their feelings hurt.  Frankly, I will find it refreshing to have a politician who speaks when she actually has something to say and doesn't waste my time with a bunch of baloney whose only pupose is to feed hacks like McGrory.  If I wanted a glib backslapper I would have voted for Brown. 

Warren is a teacher: One who has had a curriculum book in front of her for many years.

Now, she can buy a teleprompter like the president - or - continue with her talking points.

You gotta be freakin' kidding me. Too little too late Globe, now you get critical?

Elizabeth Warren is a tough, smart, powerful lawyer who properly treated the Boston press corp as a collection of hostile witnesses. Ms. Warren gave those reporters ample opportunity to question her about issues during the campaign -- and got nothing but garbage about her "heritage". I applaud her dignity, and encourage the Boston press to grow up.

The approach works well for Bill Belchick. Poor sad media. No juicy meaningless headline to exploit. She apparently forgot she exists to give you fodder for something to print.

Shocking, truly shocking that Elizabeth Warren seems not to really care for the press.  Guess what? A large segment of the general public shares her general disregard.  Gee, after this election season, I can't figure out why.  We know, we know, you love guys in barn coats and pickup trucks who you would love to have a beer with, and by all means ignore those nasty, complicated issues.  They don't produce sound bites or headlines.

The really scary thing is that she was elected to represent and advocate for the citizens on Massachusetts in the highly-charged, hyper-partisan atmosphere of Washington. There are billions of dollars of federal money, and hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts jobs at stake, and we are all relying on her now. She had better learn how to successfully deal with "adversarial" relationships - otherwise, Massachusetts will be steam-rollered by those who are doing a better job advocating for THEIR own constituencies.

OK, let's quit with the Warren-bashing and see how she fares in Washington. Isn't that what is important?

What a dumb column. 

That's not why she isn't talking now. Probably she has been told from higher ups to keep quiet now. (Just like the State Dept. is keeping quiet about what they knew about Benghazi). She KNOWS that a tax on the "Rich" sounds appealing but it will produce little revenue for the government. So soon you will be hearing (or not hearing from the press) from Harry Reid that we need "Carbon credits", and a VAT (a national sales tax) like European countries where up to 20% of an item's sales price is from a VAT. And there are all of the new taxes to pay for ObamaCare. These new taxes will hit the Middle Class, because that's where the REAL money is. And as other bloggers have noted, what ever Harry Reid and Barack Obama ask for will automatically be Elizabeth Warren's position. She will be a Loyal subject for the regime. And everybody should watch where California is headed, because that's where the rest of the country is headed.

Elizabeth Warren will give Massachusetts exactly what the Democratic controled Senate tells her to say and do under the dicates of President Obama. What you want is what Scott Brown could have given you....Fair open and honest representation which this State tossed aside in both State and Federal election. You have bought a "pig in a poke"with a Socialistic belief that every hand deserves a government handout , hard work is for the foolish,and all you finances belong to this same government. Hope you enjoy the ride down the slippery slope.Trust you will throw us all a rope and save us from this Liberal Progressive slide Elizabeth Warren.....if you can.

I really respect McGrory, but this column reeks of his own hurt feelings as a journalist.  Who cares?  What I care about is what Warren actually does as our junior Senator.

Did anyone expect anything more from her? She's a horrible, elitist witch. Excellent column McGrory. Glad someone at the Globe is exposing this fraud.

Brian after a column like this, why do you work for the Globe that supported her?  Is she evolving like Joey Kennedy?  She is an elitist and in the end she like Kerry feel they don't have to answe questions.

It will be interesting to see if leftists around the nation get their money's worth our of Liz. She is off to a rough start.

Perhaps you haven't read the memo yet Brian - our leaders are no longer required to answer substantive questions which are weird, and un-promeerican. From the details you've provided it appears that no one asked any quetions allowing her to respond with some of form of "greedy, white guys..." What gives?

Even McGrory grudgingly admits his aggrieved column is lamenting "style over substance", and Warren's seeming lack of that style yesterday.  I say, "Get used to it."  We members of the electorate always cry to get "real" citizens to fill our legislatures, but then, when we get one like Warren, we wonder where the "real politician" is.  SHE IS NOT SOME OLD-TIME, GLAD-HANDING POLITICIAN, who'll play the media game.  She may be less easy about pumping the flesh than Scott Brown was, but you know what, she has so much more going for her than Brown, and her style and approach works perfectly in the Senate, where a lower-key approach wins the day.  I've seen the footage of her grilling Timothy Geithner, and I'm not worried that she will lose all that passion when she gets to D.C.  She' going to be a refreshing Senator, and I believe she'll accomplish way more in her first couple of years than "do-nothing" glad-hander Scott Brown did.      >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>            Oh, and I get a kick out of the right-wingers out here who constantly complain and whine about the biased "liberal" media, and who now suddenly ally themselves with that very same press that they complained about JUST YESTERDAY!  "Yeah, you go, Globe and McGrory!"  Hah!  You can't have it both ways, commenters.  The press didn't change overnight to your point of view; they just haven't yet figured out our newest Senator.

What we see is the fatal flaw that is Liz Warren; a machine-bred candidate out form under the protection of her DNC handlers. What we also see is Brown' fatal campaign flaw in not expandng upon that difference. He decided to run based upon his local experience and desire to look out for the best interests of MA. She was prodded to run by the DNC and other special interests to look out for theirs. She was a bad campaigner because she truly was the reluctant candidate. She will be a weak senator because she is a front for the special interests who decided to run her in the first place.

Brian skips past her handling of the defense spending question. Never mind how she tried to pass that off to Patrick, it was the shallow answer that is troublesome. That sector accounts for a signficant portion of our state's economy. I am troubled by the possible local impact that looms over the horizon. I would even be more troubled if I were a machinist at GE Engine in Lynn or a machinist at Raytheon in Andover. I hope their union rep explained how Liz was going to help them before he told them to help her.

Brian McGrory, you are such a jerk!  Give the poor woman time to breathe!  What is it about Democrats that they like to eat their young?  You like to b*tch about career politicians but when you get what you want, a citizen legislator, you b*tch because they're not smooth enough for you.  You make me sick.

Well, folks, you kind of bought yourselves a pig in a poke, now, didn't you?

But she's NOT better than the alternative, Brian. She never was. And now that the election's over, you've taken off your rose-colored liberal glasses and are finally seeing what those of us smart enough to vote for Scott Brown knew all along: Liz Warren's got no game. Her academic career was predicated on a lie that pole vaulted her from a commuter college in Texas straight into the Ivy Leagues, which actively touted her as a "woman of color." Her much-vaunted bankruptcy research prompted other researchers to charge her with incompetence and scientific misconduct. She was so abrasive and obnoxious in Washington, Obama didn't even nominate her to head the new bloated bureaucracy she founded. Her campaign was nothing but a series of rehearsed talking points that Warren repeated ad nauseum, no matter what question was put to her. ("What's your favorite color?" Warren: "Middle class folks are getting hammered...") And when pressed for substance instead of talking points, Warren brushed off such questions with a "How dare you question me? Do you know who I am?" attitude worthy of John Kerry. And you and the rest of the media, Brian, let her get away with it. So stop pretending you didn't know the empress had no clothes. The truth of it is, Liz Warren could have participated in the Manson murders and you, the rest of the liberal media and the moonbats of this state STILL would have voted for her simply because she had that big old "D" after her name. Now, we're stuck with her. For that, I suggest you don one of those pointy hats with a "D" on it and go sit in the corner for the next six years.

I hate those voters whose decisions are based on nothing more than 'I don't like the looks of him' (and that, I would bet, is what motivates more voters than we would like to admit). I have to say that my overall impression of Elizabeth Warren influenced my vote the other day, and based on this alone I was amazed Scott Brown lost. The holds are off now, and I would guess Massachusetts will soon find that they have elected to the senate a humorless, disdainful scold to represent them - which has always been my impression of Elizabeth Warren.

For the love of god, she hasn't even started the job yet.  She was 36 hours removed from a grueling race.  Seriously, dude, get a life.  If she becomes the equivalent of Clarence Thomas and is the Silent Senator, then sure -- whack her all you want.  But that she wasn't magnanimous enough in her first post-election press conference?  Give me a break.  Lighten up.  

Yet another waste of ink in the Globe.  I honestly question the paper's judgment far more than I should -- and far more than I used to when it was actually engaged in journalism.

You get what you voted for moonbats. She will likely go down as one of the most ineffective senators ever to represent MA. Her hyper-partisanship may appeal to the liberal northeast but she now has to go to Washington and work with those she demonized throughout her campaign. No Richard Lugar there to bond with. It will be great fun to hear all the blame heaped on "others" (those nasty Republicans) as an excuse for her failure to accomplish half of what Scott Brown did in two years.

Dear Brian, 

Scott Brown lost. And it wasn't even close. Time to move on to something new. 

When you demean a woman by asking her about her "feelings" instead of what she is "thinking" then yes she will be a bit testy.  She has been through months of this and she's had enough of it as have we all.

Did her first press conference after her election night win leave something to be desired? It sure did. But let's give Elizabeth Warren a little time to grow into her new role of U.S. senator, shall we? Most of us don't have to plant ourselves before all of those tv cameras and reporters in the days after the completion of a huge project (i.e. an election, in her case). Let's let her get some rest, get ready to head to D.C., then let her knock our socks off. Just a little patience, please.

Talk is cheap. Wait for action.

She's not an experienced politician so she doesn't have a bible in her back pocket telling her how to treat you reporter types who expect politicians to polish your backsides.

She answered the questions without giving you two paragraphs of meaningless junk for your news stories, so you have to crab about it because you might have to actually get creative.

I couldn't less whether she's a great effusive speaker at a news conference. All I care about is how she performs in the Senate. You, apparently, care more about the former.

Are your surprised by her conduct? She acted the same way during the campaign as she ducked and dodged from reporters. The sainted Liberal Messiah does not like being questioned, and certainly does not have any credible answers. She was packaged by her handlers and offered little more than empty cliches. The Boston Globe enabled Liz Warren throughout the campaign by its softball treatment of her. Contrary to your assertion, she was not open and honest during the campaign. Indeed, she failed and refused to offer substantive questions about her practicing law without a license in Massachusetts, her theft of recipes from the New York Times News Service that she contributed to the POW WOW CHOW COOKBOOK, her falsely claiming Native American status over a course of nine years when she checked the box in a Law School Professor directory, her flipping foreclosed properties for profit in Oklahoma, her receipt of a 350K per year salary to teach one course at HLS, her denial of any knowledge that Harvard was touting her alleged woman of color status. Liz lied throughout the campaign, and you coddled her. Shame on you for beating up on Brown and promoting a woman of such poor character.

Elizabeth Warren worked closely wtih Holly Patreus in the consumer protection arena.  My guess is that Warren had already heard about David Patreus's resignation and admitted affair with his biographer, therefore she was upset.  Go easy folks.

If Paula Broadwell worked for Warren, it certaily wouldn't make any difference.  From what little I've read of Broadwell, she's extremely bright and very capable.

Too bad David Patreus didn't have the historic fortune like Eisenhower with his Kay Summersby affair.  It was kept quiet and then revealed after he died.

The couple ridiculous answers you mention were nothing compared to the answer about defense spending when she looke at Deval to answer and he replied "defense spending is yours." Those of us who didn't vote for her can only say "I told you so." She has no clue and will be a disaster as senator.

It doesn't matter what she says and does.  The liberal fools in this state will vote for her no matter what.  I never could stand that women.  She thinks she's better than everyone else!!