Poll: Tim Cahill defectors aided Deval Patrick - Boston Herald

By Jessica Van Sack
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - Updated 1 hour ago
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Jessica Van Sack is an award-winning journalist and the Herald's chief enterprise reporter. A graduate of Boston University, she interned in broadcast news in Europe and covered South Shore towns before joining the Herald. She works out of the State House where you can send tips to jvansack@bostonherald.com.

The treacherous defection of Tim Cahill’s running mate to Charlie Baker’s camp has backfired on the GOP candidate and helped propel Gov. Deval Patrick to a seven-point lead in the race for governor, a new Suffolk University/7News poll shows.

“Whether they like Deval Patrick or not, people are still saying he’s run the best campaign and he has the best temperament to be governor,’’ said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “He’s on the goal line. But he hasn’t gotten the touchdown yet.’’

The survey of 500 registered voters, conducted Sunday to Tuesday, shows Patrick leading with 46 percent, followed by the GOP’s Baker with 39 percent, Cahill with 10 percent and Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein with 1 percent. The poll has a 4.4 percent plus-minus margin of error.

With an astonishing 80 percent of likely voters aware of Cahill’s lawsuit accusing former aides of sabotaging his campaign, one in four said the debacle made them more likely to vote for Democrat Patrick.

Cahill’s former aides and ex-running mate Paul Loscocco — who left the campaign to endorse Baker — ended up doing more harm than good. The move hurt not just Cahill, the state treasurer and independent challenger, but Baker as well, with 17 percent of voters saying the debacle made them less likely to support Baker. Nineteen percent said it turned them off to Cahill.

Surprisingly, 45 percent of those polled said Cahill should remain in the race.

The episode did little to boost confidence in Baker’s leadership, with twice as many voters saying Patrick has the best temperament to be governor — and 38 percent saying he has run the best campaign.

More evidence that Cahill’s defectors missed their mark: Just 10 percent of voters reported that the exodus had the intended effect of hindering their support of Patrick.

Both Cahill and Baker are polling higher negatives than positives. Not so for Patrick, who has a 46 percent favorability rating, compared to 43 percent who view him unfavorably.

As the election looms a mere 19 days away, previously undecided voters and former Cahill supporters are breaking evenly for Patrick and Baker.

Cahill is also an obstacle for Baker in his biggest stronghold: Southeastern Massachusetts, Paleologos said. Suffolk County also remains a Patrick stronghold.

Despite President Obama’s lagging approval ratings nationwide, his stumping for Patrick Saturday may prove to be a Bay State boost, with 51 percent registering a favorable opinion of the commander in chief.

“Tim Cahill is toast, and Charlie Baker is getting burned by his manner and message,” said 7News political editor Andy Hiller, who added Patrick is like the “Mona Lisa” with his “serene smile” as the other two go for the jugular.

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Facebook Keeps Privacy Features Comin' - Mediapost.com

In its latest effort to ease privacy concerns, Facebook on Tuesday unveiled additional security features, including the ability to request a one-time password for use on public computers. "The feature ... allows you to text 'otp' to 32665 from a mobile phone associated with your account to get a password to use on a public computer, such as at a library or Internet café," reports the Los Angeles Times.

"The measure helps protect people from keylogging programs or malware." Another new feature lets users see all the active sessions on their account, as well as log out remotely. The top social network also plans to routinely ask users to update their account information, such as their phone number and the security question that helps prove one's identity. Kudos to Facebook for continuing to pursue a more secure environment for users, but that last endeavor sounds more like a ploy to keep members' personal information up to date -- important to advertisers willing to pay a premium for reliable demographic data.

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FCC to Tackle Bill Shock, Consider Overage Warnings - eWeek

The Federal Communications Commission is taking its next set of steps to prevent U.S. consumers from experiencing "bill shock"?unexpected charges on their mobile phone statements due to hidden costs or unclear billing practices.

According to the New York Times, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Oct. 14 will propose to the five-member commission that wireless carriers and mobile Internet companies be required to alert consumers when they're about to incur charges above the set amount of their monthly plans.

"The data is clear that there is a significant consumer issue," Genachowski said.

A study commissioned by the FCC regarding consumers' feelings about their wireless service bills found Americans to be generally confused about wireless billing. Approximately 30 million Americans reported experiencing sudden one-time increases to their bills, though they hadn't made changes to their calling or texting plans.

In May, Joel Gurin, chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, said the FCC has fielded hundreds of complaints about bill shock and his team was questioning carriers about the practice and costs of alerting consumers to overages. Requiring such a warning would not be unprecedented, as carriers in the European Union are required to warn customers when they're close to their data limit or about incur roaming charges.

"The solution is a 21st-century solution," Genachowski said, according to the Times.

Still, mobile phone companies are less keen to take up the practice, even while asserting that customers have the right to clear information regarding the wireless usage. In a filing with the FCC, Verizon pointed out that many wireless carriers helpfully offer online tools that allow customers to monitor their usage.

Such online tools, however, have not been enough to prevent bill shock. The FCC got involved in the issue, the Time reports, after The Boston Globe ran a story about a Massachusetts man who racked up an $18,000 bill after an offer of free data downloads expired.

The FCC, in its proposal Oct. 14, will ask that wireless companies make their billing practices easier to understand and more clearly spell out what the limits of a contract are and what fees apply. "Most people still don't know what a megabyte is," Genachowski said, according to the Times. "So it's hard to expect them to know when they have reached their limits."

According to the Times, the chairman's office rarely puts forth proposals that aren't likely to receive the support of the majority of the board.

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