Governor Deval Patrick attacks GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney; defends President Obama
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Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick this morning vigorously defended President Obama, while lobbing harsh criticism at Mitt Romney, the winner of last night’s Iowa caucuses and his predecessor in the governor’s office.
“The difference between this president and the modern national Republican Party is that this president really does believe we’re all in this together,’’ the governor said, speaking on CBS’s The Early Show.
Patrick called last night’s results “a win for the Tea Party,’’ seeking to paint Romney as part of the more conservative arm of the GOP.
“Mitt Romney has always been a gentleman to me personally,’’ Patrick said, “but he has occupied just about every position available in politics in the course of this campaign and a lot of his rhetoric these days is very much aligned with the Tea Party.’’
The appearance helped kick off the governor’s role in the Obama reelection effort. Patrick, a close friend of Obama’s, is expected to speak frequently on the president’s behalf in the coming months.
Should Romney become the Republican nominee, that role may take on even greater importance. As Romney’s successor on Beacon Hill, Patrick is able to draw a sharp contrast between the former governor’s policies and his own.
This morning Patrick called attention to the differences between Romney’s “hands-off’’ approach to education and job creation in Massachusetts and his own, more hands-on approach, a strategy that he argues has been more successful.
“I think at the end of the day the voters who will vote in general election are going to see a very different choice in philosophy about what direction the country should take,’’ Patrick said. “And it’s a direction about whether we are a country and united in moving forward, or whether we’re going to say to everyone: They’re on their own.’’
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