It's been a bumpy road for Deval Patrick since inauguration day. Who else could you think of that could offer the fledgling governor a good little pep talk? Former President Bill Clinton, of course.

As controversy enveloped his young tenure, Gov. Deval L. Patrick says he took an impromptu phone call from former President Bill Clinton that helped rescue his fledgling governorship from the downward spiral of its first 100 days.

“We were on the phone for almost an hour,” Patrick said of the recent conversation. “He reminded me just how important it is to stay focused on the (political) destination, even though there is an awful lot of effort to get you off that focus.”

The tete-a-tete with Clinton, a mentor to Patrick who gave him his first government job, shows the powerful allies the new governor can draw upon in times of self-doubt. It also shows that Patrick has already confronted such doubts, despite the wave of support that carried him to the Corner Office.

"I’m learning coping skills,” Patrick, 51, said in a Herald interview. “I think it’s very important to slow down, take it one day at a time and keep going in the right direction.”

What exactly did the former president say to Governor Deval Patrick?

“He gave me some wonderful, wonderful advice,” Patrick said, refusing to provide details. “Sometimes, it’s the job of some people to keep you from doing your job, and I can’t (let them) do that. I ran for a reason, and it wasn’t just to occupy the office, it was actually to do the job.”

Just remember Governor, there is not a sizable Republican presence on Beacon Hill for you to scapegoat. Your troubles are your own doing...hey, kind of like Clinton's.