Brian McGrory is too smart to be surprised.

That's why it was a little odd to read his column in today's Boston Globe expressing shock over Gov. Deval Patrick's recent expressions of arrogance. Clearly, McGrory paid close attention to Patrick all throughout last year's campaign--so why couldn't he see that Patrick's arrogance was par for the course?

Didn't McGrory recall Patrick's declaration that the 2000 voter-approved state income-tax cut was irresponsible? Or his dismissal of those who had legal questions about the 2003 enactment of same-sex marriage? Or his scorn for those who felt that the Bay State had a serious problem concerning illegal immigration?

All one has to do is to review some of Patrick's more notorious actions at the Justice Department a decade ago to realize that the man has an arrogant streak ten miles wide. While McGrory is the most "reality-based" of the Globe's current roster of City & Region columnists, it's mystifying as to why he couldn't see this coming.

One suspects that Mr. McGrory is not alone. In fact, there are probably thousands of Patrick supporters who have been caught off-guard by the Governor's actions, and now wonder just who it was they elected.

Last year, Patrick demonstrated that he possessed Bill Clinton's ability to falsely portray himself as a man of humility. Just as Clinton sold the American people on the "Man from Hope" shtick, so too did Patrick seduce the electorate with his phony man-of-the-people act. It helped tremendously that his opponent, Kerry Healey, was falsely perceived by some voters as self-righteous and stuck-up.

Patrick is, at bottom, a political version of the televangelists who pretend to be humble servants of God during their sermons; once the cameras are turned off, they go back to their private jets and multi-million dollar mansions. We might as well have elected Benny Hinn governor.

Patrick-as-humble-man was always a phony. Why couldn't McGrory see through the baloney?

UPDATE: More from the Globe, the Herald, Townhall.com and Jon Keller.

UPDATE: More from the Globe, the Herald, Jeff Jacoby and Red Mass. Group. Plus, more from the Boston Phoenix and Squaring the Boston Globe.