Well, if the latest polls are to be believed, after closing in on Patrick—she got to within 13 points of him in early October—Healey's heated shit-slinging of late has resulted in actually doubling her opponent's lead, which now stands at 27 points.

The Healey camp, while not acknowledging the poll results, has pledged to spend the last two weeks of the campaign focusing on the positive.

Her spokesperson, Amy Lambiaso, kicked off the new focus on the positive today by assuring voters cheerily that "Deval has no plans for Massachusetts except to raise taxes, lower standards in our schools and put dangerous criminals back on our streets."

A spokesman from the Patrick camp countered by saying, "Here again, Healey's people are distorting the truth. Deval has released a five-point agenda, not just a three-point one. In addition to his plans to raise taxes, lower education standards, and put criminals back on the streets, Deval has also outlined a promising program to get UMass-educated illegal Mexican terrorists on board as many planes as possible with the new Massachusetts driver's licenses he plans to issue them—that's point four. But the jewel in the crown of his campaign, as everyone knows, has always been his plan to declare himself Sultan of Massachusetts, start his personal seraglio under that big gold dome, and stock it up with as many Republican and swing-voting soccer moms as the State Police can round up for him."

I must say, I'm impressed with the new numbers, if a bit skeptical. If they're accurate, Healey herself bears sole responsibility for wideining the gap. There was definitely a political risk in flogging Deval with the Ben LaGuer thing. If Healey had more charm she might have been able to carry it off, but she came across in the end as more defensive about it than Deval was. Bit her in the ass, didn't it? If the numbers are accurate.

What I will enjoy most about a Healey defeat in November is the thought of the small personal fortune she blew on her bitter campaign. Sure, it might have been better spent helping victims of violent crime or domestic violence, or maybe starting a scholarship fund for at-risk kids, but if it was going to be put to use for one woman's delusions of grandeur instead, we can at least hope it will serve as a valuable lesson to her on the limits of personal ambition.