Patrick takes center stage, heaps praise

Says Obama understands voters' needs

Delegates cheered from the floor of the Pepsi Center last during Democratic National Convention. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)

DENVER - Three years ago Deval Patrick was a political unknown, but last night the Massachusetts governor stepped onto a prime-time national political stage to extol the historic candidacy of his friend, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and took shots at the man standing between Obama and the White House, John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Appearing in a coveted convention time slot between Mark Warner, the keynote speaker and Senate candidate from Virginia, and Hillary Clinton, Obama's vanquished rival, Patrick adhered to comfortable themes such as building a sense of community and renewed civic engagement, what Patrick last night called "as renewed American story." Those themes defined his upstart gubernatorial candidacy in 2006 and echo those espoused by Obama in his presidential campaign. But he also drew sharp contrasts between Obama and McCain, especially on the issue of education, and tied the Arizona senator to the Bush administration.

"Barack Obama understands that we must renew our commitment to the American story today," Patrick said. "And the gateway is through a first-rate education. That's why Barack Obama wants to help our kids be ready to learn when they get to kindergarten, by investing in early education. That's why he wants to fix and fund No Child Left Behind. That's why he wants to better train and reward high-performing teachers, why he wants to emphasize more math and science preparation, and why he wants to support the college ambitions of young people by helping them pay for it . . ."

"Now, John McCain says he believes in education, too," Patrick said. "But he is against fully funding No Child Left Behind, against fully funding Head Start, against hiring more teachers, and wants to abolish the Department of Education. . . . John McCain is just more of the same say-one-thing-do-another crowd in the White House today."

He also said McCain is "leading the charge" to privatize Social Security and "put corporate pension funds up for grabs."

For Bay State residents, sections of Patrick's convention speech would have been familiar, describing his rise from an impoverished childhood, in rhetorical flourishes resembling those that have propelled the Obama candidacy. Yet only those in the Pepsi Center heard it; none of the major television or cable networks broadcast the speech, preferring to use the time to discuss Hillary Clinton's upcoming appearance.

Patrick framed Obama's challenge "to rebuild our national community, to focus not on the things that tear us apart, but on those that bring us together; not on the right or the left, but the right and wrong."

Patrick and Obama share similar life stories, political philosophies, and campaign advisers. Consultants David Axelrod and David Plouffe worked on Patrick's campaign and serve as chief strategist and campaign manager, respectively, for Obama.

Doug Rubin, Patrick's chief of staff and close political adviser, said the assignment of a choice speaking slot for Patrick is not surprising given the similarities in style and philosophy, and the familiarity of the two rising political figures.

"You couldn't ask for a better place to be," Rubin said of the convention schedule. "David Axelrod knows the governor, he's seen him in action, and he knows there are probably few people out there who can articulate Barack Obama's vision better than Deval Patrick."

The two rose from humble backgrounds and broken families, attended Ivy League schools, and rose quickly in politics. Patrick grew up on the South Side of Chicago, a neighborhood Obama adopted as his home.

During the fight with Clinton for the nomination, Obama was accused of lifting passages from Patrick's stump phraseology.

Obama drew huge crowds when he campaigned for Patrick two years ago, and Patrick has returned the favor, making a limited number of surrogate appearances, usually on weekends, in Iowa, Ohio, and New Hampshire on behalf of Obama's candidacy.

John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, called the speech "a very significant event" in the maturation of Patrick as a political figure. "I've been at a couple of events with him this week with people who have been doing this for a long time, and Deval described himself as an amateur" in politics, said Walsh, who managed Patrick's campaign two years ago.

Patrick, who survived a rocky start to his administration, has worked more closely with legislative leaders and scored some recent successes.

In response to speculation that he might be considered for a position in a Democratic administration should Obama win in November, Patrick has issued consistent denials, often in almost Shermanesque terms. "I'm not going, I'm not going . . . I am not going to Washington," he told reporters outside Denver on Monday.

Patrick's remarks capped a whirlwind day. He had returned to Massachusetts from Denver late Monday and yesterday attended the funeral of Paul E. Conlon, the 21-year-old Army private first class who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan 12 days ago. He was joined by Senator John F. Kerry and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray. They returned to Denver in chartered jet, landing about five hours before Patrick's scheduled remarks.