Desperation is beginning to rear its head in the Democratic gubenatorial primary, as Tom Reilly is running an ad asking what his opponents have to hide, given that neither are releasing their tax returns for public scrutiny. The ad tries to weave in a hint of fraud and milk the legacy of Ken Lay and his ilk.

And while I'm curious why neither Gabrieli nor Patrick have done this, neither has the attendant hint of scandal to make me think they are hiding something. More likely they're trying to downplay net worth in order to allow voters to keep thinking of the lieutenant governor as the wealthy candidate. Which is kind of a pipe dream, when you're either a venture capitalist setting records for campaign spending or a former general counsel for Texaco and Coke.

We'll probably see more on this tonight when the candidates debate. I also expect we'll hear more on a couple of the major themes brought out at a candidate round-table last night: Reilly's role in the Big Dig fiasco and Patrick's new interest in rolling back the income tax.