Patrick takes another role helping Obama

Deval Patrick, a big cheerleader for Barack Obama, is taking on another significant role as Obama pivots to general election mode.

The Obama campaign announced this afternoon that Patrick will be one of 14 national co-chairpersons of Vote for Change, a 50-state voter registration effort designed to build on Obama's success during the primaries in attracting new voters. The effort kicks off on Saturday with a series of events across the country.

"Everywhere I go, people feel the same urgency to get this country back on track," Patrick said in a statement. “We need to restore some sense to our tax code. We need to end our dependence on foreign oil and help relieve the burden of soaring energy prices. And we need to end this misguided war. The larger our coalition in November, the stronger our mandate for change will be.”

The leaders of the effort also include other elected officials, labor leaders, community leaders, and entertainers such as Usher and Melissa Etheridge.