Patrick watches history unfold

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

DENVER -- Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick wanted to savor the moment.

Standing with his state's delegation as the roll call vote was taken, Patrick didn't want any interruptions when the Democratic Party made history and nominated Barack Obama, his good friend and political soul mate, as their candidate for president.

"Do you know what this means?" he asked a pesky reporter seeking an interview.

Patrick -- who made history himself as Massachusetts' first African American governor and only the second elected black governor in US history -- waited patiently as the drama played out: Idaho cast its votes, then Illinois deferred to New York. A smile crossed Patrick's face when Hillary Clinton, led by a wedge of Secret Service agents, swept through the crowded hall into the New York delegation and asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to suspend the rules and officially make Obama the nominee by acclamation, the first African American to be a major party's standard bearer.

At 5:48 p.m., Pelosi agreed, the crowd quickly seconded it --"Aye!" Patrick yelled -- and motion was instantly approved on a roaring voice vote.

The crowd exploded in cheers. History was made. Patrick fought back emotion. "I almost lost it," he said.

"It's huge," Patrick said as the band launched into the '70s soul classic, "Love Train." "It was a moment of historical significance and grace."