And the elephant in the room is . . . . .  

Barney Frank - are you kidding ?

If you want to point a figure at the person most responsible for the Financial crisis - it's him.

Five years ago, for example, when the Bush administration proposed much tighter regulation of the two companies, Frank was adamant that "these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis."

i have always enjoyed watching the three stooges and with Moe we havea link back to that time.  Barney was clearly the best choice for getting effective legislation passed that would help Massachusetts. Moe will be clueless on how it all works and  he doesnt have time to figure it out. But Deval was insulted that Barney announced he wanted the job. So he fixed him and he fixed us along with him.

Let me get this straight, a "staff member" is now our State Senator? You mean the guy who used to pick up pizza for all of the meetings is now our state senator? I was actually expecting Deval patrick to pick an illegal alien, so this pick is reather refreshing.

Everybody seems to know how to post negative messages here. It seems to be the modus operandi of most posters.

This is an interim appointment, for goodness sake. The interim Massachusetts Senator will have absolutely no sway on any matter in the Senate, it wouldn't matter who he was. All the other Senators will know he won't be there in a few months, so the only thing he will have is a single vote, which isn't much.

If the Governor had appointed someone who would run for the seat, then it would have some significance. Nobody but me seemed to want that. Under the "someone who won't run" principle, it really doesn't matter who the interim Senator is. I'm surprised that a few people here seem to think it does.

As a newcomer, I don't know Gov. Patrick's history with MA, or of Mr. Cowan. If he puts MA interests first in is duties in the Senate it shouldn't matter who is named as interim Senator. Unless a former Senator or aide to Senator Kerry is named, there's no reason to expect an interim appointee to have any leverage. I would say that 2014 is when we'll get a serious Senator, since whomever wins in June will still be beatable then.

It really doesn't matter much and isn't worth much excitement.  But it is a rather oddball pick. The poor guy won't know where the restaurant is or get to use the gym in such a short period.  Leadership will tell him how to vote and ge gets a decent salary for five months.

This however, is exactly why I hate these short term special appointments and the special elections that follow.  The law should be the guy completes the other guys term and then have an election.  I know the encumbent advantage, blah, blah.  But if the other guy hadn't left he would've had the advantage anyhow.  Now all you get is a warm seat, an expensive election, perhaps Scott Brown winning a seat with a small voter turnout only to get thrown out again at the next Presidential election.  Talk about a waste of money.  Special elections are exactly that.

I think some of you guys are forgetting that big events are destined to happen in Washington between now and June ...

1. Experience is a negative when it comes to politicians- especially to veterans of the recent Congress.  We need more Mr. Smiths

2. Barney killed Obama's image on both Wall Street regulation and healthcare= He's fits the caricature of Northern libs that the red states hate.   The Senate does not need the attack dog right now- especially with a weak insider democratic field up against the equable-seeming Scott Brown (if he leaves the tomahawks at home) Mr.  Brown.  Despite politics politics and postions, it seems the electorate will always prefer to nice guy to the machine hack  (Elizabeth W was enough of an outsider to beat this).

3.  A senator controlled by this governor for the next 4 months is not a bad thing for the dems and good policy  (I would have rather Gov Patrick appointed himself and then run for the seat)

It is great for a new generation of citizens to start stepping to the plate to be leaders. Congratulations SEN Cowan.

Seems to me former Governor Dukakis would have been a better choice for my home state. While I rarely have agreed with his political philosophy, fellow Senators would have listened to him! And, in the end, that is all an interim appointment could do for the citizens of the Commonwealth. Maybe he was asked and declined.....

This is all about Deval's inflated ego. He wanted one of his cronies to serve so that he could control him. Mo Cowan may be a nice guy, but is certainly not qualified to serve as the interim Senator. However, the Governor just doesn't care about the citizens of Massachusetts. It is all about Deval. That is why he is fine with hiking taxes and spending. Given that he is a self-professed lame-duck Governor, he has no accountability or concerns.

Scot is 100 percent correct...heck, I'd have rather he chose Weld over this guy.  Hard to believe it was racial but I guess it's possible.  It should have been Barney, Meehan, or the Duke.

Good choice. Someone relatively unknown and who is smart and capable to hold this short-term stewardship.

This is just a place holder. He will use Kerry's staff and they will lead him where he needs to go. This was what was needed in the short term. Frank would not have been easily led. That is why this guy was chosen.

the governor asked him if he'll vote 100% of the time with the democrats, he said yes, got the job.

Methinks, Scott doth protest to much.  Representative Frank indeed knows the issues inside out and backwards but he would have been a constant and continuous distraction from any Democratic candidate.  How would we know this?  Why in future Columns by Scott.  The columns would constantly and continuously draw comparisons between Frank and the Democratic candidate.  As several others have commented, it's an Interim Senate appointment.  

Scot

The man is in his 40s.  Barney is in his 70s. There is just something to be said for injecting a smart negotiator even though not widely known to legislate for his own generation.  One of the reasons we get stuck in the mud is too many moldy politicians come at us with the same old, same old.  It may be they think of their children and grandchildren as the inheritors of their efforts but it is probably a stronger impetus to do the proper thing if you have to live with it yourself.  Mr. Cowan's bio is one of an impressive negotiator with his head screwed on right, and has had the responsibility of shaping and arguing for legislation for the Patrick administration.  We do not need someone of vast experience that has not turned the tide but someone who brings some fresh untested skills to the table.  His background suggests he does not mind getting his hands dirty in the playground of politics.  Both political sides should stand down and welcome a prepared young actor who may be just what the doctor ordered.  It is a short stay for him but maybe lay the groundwork for whom we should support in future candidates for office.

Mr. Lehigh fails to make a convincing argument here.  What qualifications does he think an interim, or even a permanent, senator should have?  Prior political experience is not a requirement (Mr. Brown had very little practical experience).  Don't we elect people who share our interests, values, concerns, and goals?  Mr. Cowan shares exactly the governor's interests and he in turn shares ours (we did elect Mr. Patrick in this very blue state).  As for Mr. Meehan . . . are you serious?  One of the conditions of serving as the interim senator is a promise not to run for the seat in the special election.  Mr. Meehan is a proven liar (yes, that is the correct word here) when it comes to political promises about office tenure. 

I first I too thought it was an odd choice.  But I've reconsidered.  Mo Cowan doesn't know DC politics, but he does know what federal laws would benefit Massachusetts.  There was no way an interim Senator was going to shape an entire bill, but the devil is in the details.  He might author a revision or push for a specific addition which benefits MA.  Otherwise, as other's have said, it makes no differerence. 

What do expect from a light weight

What the hell was he thinking?  For an interim appointment it defies logic for someone to sit in the Senate with no legislative experience.  He could only have been more roundly criticized if he had appointed Billy Bulger to fill in.

For a good doctrinaire liberal columnist at a good doctrinaire liberal paper in a good doctrinaire liberal state to oppose what was clearly an affirmative action/reward for services rendered pick by our very affirmative governor seems odd to me.  Since when did the Globe favor putting our own parochial interests ahead of promoting diversity?   Mo Howard gets national publicity, face time in the U.S. Senate and a lifetime pass on the Senate floor, all of which is going to do his career in law and lobbying a whole lot of good, and while there are a lot of important business to be decided between now and June, there's always important business to be decided and yet somehow the Republic, and Massachusetts, seem to survive.  And Scot's favored alternative is a laundry list of tired, shopworn white males who have already had decades at the trough.  I'm no particular fan of Deval Patrick but I actually like his selection of Mo Howard, seems like a good guy deserving of the opportunity and I think he'll do just fine and the peoples' business will get done somehow.  Does Scot think that an interim senator no matter how distinguished and experienced was going to play a prominent role when major deals get cut?  Everything I know about the Senate says it does not work that way, so why not give a brother a shot?

If experience mattered to Democrats, Hillary would have been the nominee in 2008.

Yes I know his name is really Mo Cowan, Mo Howard was a joke.  Larry and Curly could not be reached for comment.  Shemp could be reached for comment but nobody cared what it was.

It's not like we are in a crisis and need leadership:

After last week's record-breaking plunge of over 350k, this week saw a surge of over 418k added to the EUC rolls - the biggest 2-week jump in two months.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-31/jobless-claims-jump-most-sandy-now-flat-13-months

Come on Guys and Girls, what else would you expect from Deville Deval, its all about appointing Hacks, Friends and Neighbors thats all he has done during his entire tenure. The press gives him a free pass no other governor could have gotten away with such outragous cronyism. He just keep giving us all the finger !

Remember, "Together We Can"

Scott, how dare you say anything negative about Deval Patrick in the left wing section of the Globe.. Repeat after me, Deval and Obama know what's best for us.....And let me add the old cliche's "don't be such a racist"...

Another example of the end result of a one party oligarchic system as exists in MA.