Patrick’s low ratings part of national trend

Before anyone writes Deval Patrick's political obituary over the 7News/Suffolk University poll released yesterday, it's worth noting that Patrick has plenty of bad-ratings company among his fellow governors.   Judging by the range of polls available online, voters across the country feel better about their (new) federal administration than about any state leader who had the misfortune of being in office when the global economy tanked. In Minnesota, California, and Ohio, to name just a few, the governors saw some of their lowest approval-ratings ever; in New York, Gov. David Paterson's approval ratings dropped 10 points in a single month.

"The economy certainly has hurt many governors," says Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos, who adds, "historically, a governor has his or her worst time in the middle of the term."