Forum fun and the morning roundup.

It was a busy night for Capuano, Khazei, Pagliuca, Brown, Robinson, Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Price.

Before I give away any plot points, let's just get to the morning roundup.

--MassLive's Patrick Johnson recounts last night's forum/debate in detail.  According to Johnson, things got heated at times between Mike Capuano and the Republicans over the economic stimulus, and Martha Coakley's chair was not the only empty one for much of the night:

"In addition to Coakley’s total no-show, the debate saw Capuano rise from his seat at about the halfway mark and exit the stage. He did not return and no explanation was given during the debate...Organizers of the debate said Capuano was physically exhausted, taking part in the House vote on health care reform that lasted until just before midnight Saturday, and then the trip Sunday from Washington, D.C., to Amherst."

--Coakley's absence also highlighted the growing frustration among the other Democratic candidates about the dearth of debates.  Capuano told the Globe's Matt Viser he would debate "5 times a week," while Steve Pagliuca and Alan Khazei are reportedly offering to help TV stations pick up the cost of production for two more statewide debates. Viser writes:

"Coakley’s campaign says she will agree to one more televised debate, but has yet to say when or where that might be and has not accepted invitations from two groups trying to pull together such events."

--Khazei called Coakley out in Amherst:

"I think it’s too bad that Attorney General Coakley decided not to join us tonight and the League of Women Voters here in Western Massachusetts, this is a big senate seat there are critical issues facing you the citizen voters of Massachusetts, I think Attorney General Coakley should be here, I hope she'll take up the challenge, we should have four more televised debates."

--Sam Butterfield at the Daily Collegian offers his recount of the debate, which apparently had a strong focus on the economy.  This is a pretty detailed recap of the forum.

--The Collegian's Nick Bush has UMass student reaction to the debate.

Non debate links:


--The Boston Herald is all over Capuano today. Dave Wedge reports that Capuano has missed 14% of votes in Congress this year, ranking 10th among House members for missing votes.  Meanwhile, Hillary Chabot took a look at Capuano's campaign and PAC spending at high-end restaurants, and questions whether or not his dining habits put him at odds with his everyman image.  Chabot also notes in the Monday Morning Briefing that the Capuano campaign mistakenly sent fundraiser invites to lawmakers on Beacon Hill.

--The Globe's editorial board thinks Steve Pagliuca's Bain background "deserves a fair and full vetting."

--Finally, Pags was a guest on NECN's "This Week in Business" yesterday, and discussed the economy and health care reform: