Today's Special Election in Massachusetts

It's looking like Republican Scott Brown might pull off quite the upset today in the special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat. Democrat Martha Coakley has run a terrible campaign, and Brown has capitalized on Democratic apathy and popular opposition to the health care bill.

I don't live in Massachusetts, but I'm close to people who know the families of the candidates. My mom grew up in the same town in western Massachusetts as Coakley, although Coakley was four years older. People in the region were quite proud when Coakley held her swearing-in ceremony in Berkshire County, making all the Boston types drive out there for the occasion.

One of my close friends is from the same part of the state as Scott Brown's family, and he has run into Brown several times in the context of sports. He claims that Brown was just ahead of him in a road race, but cheated by cutting the corners in the race. He also recalls playing basketball against Brown and his family; supposedly Brown's daughter, Ayla, played defense by jamming her elbows into my friend's brother. He notes that Brown is not a good shooter.

Of course, these are just anecdotes, but I thought they were interesting.