Here are the names of the four Democratic candidates who are running to succeed the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy in the U.S. Senate:

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley,

Rep. Michael Capuano,

Businessman Stephen Pagliuca,

City Year co-founder Alan Khazei.

There won’t be a test, at least not yet.
But perhaps there should be and here’s why:

It has been a very long time since Massachusetts had an open field of candidates for this seat in U.S. Senate.

Senator Kennedy held that office for nearly a half-century until his death last summer.

Consider that John Kerry is our “senior” Senator after serving nearly a quarter century as the “junior.”

Its clear that Massachusetts voters take politics and politicians seriously. And once elected, we stick with them. We expect them to take their place on the national political stage and take a leadership role in shaping the national agenda.

So it seems to us at Radio Boston that a close, serious and careful scrutiny of the candidates running for this office — from any party — requires our close attention.

After all, history shows us that once elected – they might represent the people of the Commonwealth for a long time.

Send in or call in with your questions.

Thanks for listening… Jane.