An Interesting Endorsement In MA-4.

According to a campaign email I got this morning, Senator John McCain has endorsed Sean Bielat, Barney Frank's challenger in Massachusetts' 4th District:

On this Election Day voters in Massachusetts will decide who will best represent them in Congress and for the first time in a long time, Congressman Barney Frank has a strong and serious Republican challenger who is within striking distance of winning.

I strongly support Sean Bielat for Congress and with your support, he will win the election on November 2nd.

Were this a normal Massachusetts one-party election, McCain's endorsement wouldn't matter a tinker's damn. But this is not a normal election. While most of the rest of us look at McCain as a quirky Republican at best, in New England he is seen as an 'acceptable conservative', and his maverick image and military sacrifice carry a measure of respect. That could well give Newton/Brookline moderates (Clinton Democrats to the rest of us) the cushion of comfort they need to vote for Bielat. If there is one thing suburban Boston voters hate worse than a Republican, it's a pol who has overstayed his welcome - and I think Frank may have finally done that.