Governor fed jabs, support in sweetened breakfast bash

Governor Deval Patrick threw his head back and laughed along with the crowd as the rest of the state's political establishment made him the biggest target of their jokes yesterday at the annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast in South Boston.

When it was his turn to speak, he announced he had added a new senior staffer to his team: Martha Stewart. He said she had "some really wonderful ideas about how to seasonally change the office" -- a reference to the flap over his expensive office refurbishment.

Then the governor set up a scoreboard to keep track of the number of times people joked about the expensive Cadillac he had leased as his official vehicle, and the opulent drapes he had ordered for his office.

"I don't know if you have enough numbers on there, governor," said state Senator Jack Hart, a Democrat from South Boston and the host of the breakfast.

"I tell you what I do have is the line-item veto," the governor replied. "I'd keep that in mind."

But that was as far as Patrick went in returning the ribbing. The freshman governor declined to give as good as he got. He spoke for just over two minutes, less time than the other headliners, telling jokes at his own expense.

Then Patrick sat back and laughed at everybody else's barbs about his political missteps -- his expensive vehicles, his office decor, the phone call he made on behalf of a controversial mortgage lender.

The breakfast, a Bostonian political tradition attended by hundreds and showcased by every major media outlet in the region, usually gives governors a chance to turn the tables on their critics in politics and in the media. But Patrick's audience did not seem to mind that he turned down that opportunity.

They seemed sympathetic to Patrick, who just a week earlier had announced that his wife, Diane, was suffering from exhaustion and depression, and that he would be curtailing his weekend and evening appearances to spend more time with her.

The crowd, mostly Democrats, seemed to try to encourage the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years.

"In Southie we support your plan/ And our thoughts and prayers are with Diane/ And together we all know you can/ Happy days are just ahead," the audience, led by Hart, sang in a remake of "Happy Days Are Here Again." Patrick gamely joined in.

"He took it like a trouper," Senate President Robert E. Travaglini said after the breakfast. "He was funny, he came out in full view, and went along with the gig."

But not everybody went easy on Patrick.

Travaglini, the first to speak, joked that Patrick had offered to let the legislative leaders try on one of the designs for his new clothing line, Deval.

"As soon as we put the suit on, it all came apart at the seams," Travaglini said.

DiMasi was even tougher on Patrick.

The audience howled as the speaker played bits of songs that he said reminded him of the governor's political trajectory: Captain & Tennille's "Love will Keep Us Together," then Frank Sinatra's "My Way," then Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry."

Finally, the speaker said, "Governor, I hate to give you the bad news, but this is where you are today," as the strains of Celine Dion singing "All By Myself" filled the hall.

Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill joked: "The good news: After 16 years, we finally got a Democrat back in the corner office. The bad news: It's still Mike Dukakis."

Even Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray joined in, saying he and his wife had had the pleasure of visiting Patrick's "cottage" -- his large summer house in the Berkshires.

"The gift shop is awesome," he said.

But Patrick wasn't the only target. DiMasi promised the youthful lieutenant governor that he would be home in time for his nap.

"First time I was introduced to him a couple of years ago, they told me he was the mayor of Worcester," he said. "I thought it was student government day at the State House."

Former governor Mitt Romney, who did not attend the breakfast, was also the object of teasing about his out-of-state travels before he declared himself a candidate for president.

"Governor Romney was going to come here this morning but he couldn't remember how to get back to Massachusetts," Hart said, to huge applause.

The only presidential candidate who appeared was Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Democrat from Delaware, who joked about his own recent gaffe: Earlier this year, he offended many by describing US Senator Barack Obama of Illinois as "the first mainstream African-American candidate who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

"What can you say about Obama?" he said to laughter. "You can say whatever the hell you want, I'm saying nothing anymore."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino endured plenty of teasing about the guerrilla marketing ads for the Cartoon Network that city authorities mistook for bombs earlier this year, creating a massive terrorist scare.

"This guy," said US Representative Stephen F. Lynch, holding up a picture of one of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force characters, "he was threatening to blow up all the bridges in Boston. But fortunately, because of the good work of the mayor, he gave up when he couldn't find a parking space."

Menino brought the house down with the best joke of the morning about his infamously tortured diction.

"I don't know what all the fuss is about Dice-K adjusting to Boston and needing a translator," he said. "People say I've been speaking Japanese for years."

It was the first St. Patrick's Day breakfast without James M. Kelly, the South Boston city councilor who died in January.

Many of the speakers took a moment to honor him, including Menino, who read a short poem in Kelly's memory that recalled their battles over whether South Boston residents should be allowed to "save" parking spaces they had shoveled out after a snowstorm.

"He had a big heart, which held a lot/ For the little guy he always fought/ Now he's up there looking down/ On his dear, beloved town/ wondering, 'Who's in my parking spot?' "

The final speaker was Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral , the only politician who sought to turn the tables on Patrick's critics in the media.

She recited a series of limericks that ended on a grim note.

"From this game there is little escape/ While your image they seek to reshape;/ They control all the chatter/ 'Cause they say what matters/ Are Cadillacs, 'copters, and drapes./ For proof that they're right/ Grab the paper tonight/ You'll see Cadillacs, 'copters, and drapes."

Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com.