Kerry Healey has opened her campaign for Governor of Massachusetts in predictable fashion. Her two main issues are crime and taxes. The soft on crime issue is a copy of President Bush’s “be scared, be very, very scared†campaign strategy that seems finally to be running out of steam. Will Healey have more success at scaring people into voting for a woman with –as her opponent Deval Patrick says – a theoretical understanding of crime? We shall see, but it seems unlikely. As for taxes, the tired idea of suggesting tax reductions in a period when we cannot educate our children, medicate our sick, or police our streets will resonate among those with no real commitment to their communities. It is of course impossible to know whether the people of Massachusetts will fall for this but hopefully they will at least recognize that the choice is not only about taxes but also for the social services that our taxes provide and that the Bush presidency and Congress have been hell-bent to kill. It will also be worth watching the press to see if broad comments like “soft on crimeâ€Â and “no more taxes” will be tested beyond simply passing them on to the readers. I have no expectations for TV/cable news but the print press has an opportunity to do better.