Gov. Patrick says he will not leave to take a job in a potential Obama administration.
Gov. Deval Patrick said Monday he does not plan to leave the Massachusetts governorship to take a job in Barack Obama's cabinet if his friend wins the White House.Patrick also ruled out the possibility of serving as Obama's running mate, saying he simply loves being the state's chief executive officer too much to accept a federal job.
"I would appreciate the flattery of being asked, but no," Patrick told reporters shortly after he and other governors met with President George W. Bush at the White House.
"I'm a governor," said Patrick, who was attending the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association. "I love this job. This is good."
Asked if his assertion about not leaving the governorship to serve in a Obama administration was "iron-clad," Patrick, a former assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration, said it was.
Patrick has been among Obama's strongest supporters, campaigning for him across the nation, speaking to the media on his behalf and helping him to raise funds. He planned to join other governors supporting Obama at a fundraising event Monday night at a D.C. hotel.
UPDATE: More from Michael Graham, Casey Ross and the Herald.