WITH BARACK OBAMA LIKELY headed to the Democratic nomination, it’s time again to check in on Obama’s secret-sharer of rhetoric and other political stylings, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. As a neophyte politician, Patrick rode a wave of hope into Beacon Hill’s corner office, just as Obama is trying to do on a national level.

When we last left the Patrick story some six weeks ago, Patrick’s popularity was plummeting, his legislative agenda lay in ruin, and he was in the process of redefining the phrase “ineffective executive” for generations to come. Since then, believe it or not, things have only gotten worse for the Commonwealth’s beleaguered regent.