THEY CAN'T CONTROL THEMSELVES – AT 4:40 P.M. ET:  From the Boston Herald.  Boston.com, referred to in the story, is the online service of the veddy liberal Boston Globe:

Not so fast.

In a premature online Dewey beats Truman moment, boston.com today posted an online map of Massachusetts voting results declaring Attorney General Martha Coakley the winner of today’s special U.S. Senate election.

Whoops.

There’s only one problem, guys - the polls are open until 8 p.m.

“It was a test on a tool and it meant nothing. I don’t know how these things happen,” said the executive assistant to the editor of boston.com. The editor, David Beard, has yet to return a call to the Herald.

The boston.com map called the race for Coakley 50 percent to state Sen. Scott Brown’s 49 percent. Independent Joseph L. Kennedy, no relation to the Kennedy clan, comes in last with a mere 1 percent.

Ouch.

The bogus map shows Coakley capturing most of eastern Massachusetts all the way to the tip of Cape Cod.

Brown was big, in the Globe’s wish map, taking the North Shore.

The map is now down - at least until the real results come in after 8 p.m.

COMMENT:  One pundit wondered what the reaction will be in the political world if the final results matched the map.  Hmm.  We hope not.

January 19, 2010