Patrick, other governors to see Obama

Governor Deval Patrick is among the officials planning to meet with President-elect Barack Obama next week to discuss how the economic crisis is affecting state budgets.

Obama, who will be joined by Vice President-elect Joe Biden, is planning to meet Tuesday with a group of governors at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, who is chairman of the National Governors Association, and Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont, the association's vice chairman, are hosting the event.

All governors were invited to attend, and in an instance that is ripe with potential awkwardness, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has accepted the invite. Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee who debated Biden and accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists," will be at the meeting, according to her spokesman, Bill McAllister.

"I don't think she will feel at all awkward," McAllister said in an e-mail. "Governor Palin already has announced her intention to work cooperatively with the Obama administration, reaching agreement wherever it can be found."

Patrick will also be part of a smaller group of governors meeting with Obama Monday, according to a State House official briefed on the governor's travels.

In a news conference yesterday, Obama repeated his plan to help states through federally-funded infrastructure projects that will help create jobs.

In a reference to helping politicians who know him, such as Patrick, Obama said he would base his decisions on national priorities, not relationships.

"That's part of the old way of doing business," he said. "The new way of doing business is, let's figure out what projects, what investments are going to give the American economy the most bang for the buck."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.