Deval Patrick Basking In National Spotlight After DNC Speech, But No Presidential Run In 2016

Deval Patrick had his work cut out for him at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. The Massachusetts governor would somehow have to compete with well-received speeches from First Lady Michelle Obama and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, among many others.

Patrick delivered in a big way.

His opening lines set the tone for a boisterous convention: “Good evening Democrats, are you fired up? Are you ready?”

The speech Deval Patrick delivered not only marked his entry to the world of national politics, but also burned up the Twittersphere, WSHM reported. Everyone from celebrities to political analysts tweeted about Patrick’s speech outlining Pres. Obama’s credentials.

Deval Patrick’s speech was a resounding endorsement of Obama and his accomplishments.

“This is the president who delivered the security of affordable health care to every single American after 90 years of trying,” he said. “This is the president who brought Osama bin Laden to justice, who ended the war in Iraq and is ending the war in Afghanistan.”

Deval Patrick also reserved criticism for Romney, who preceded Patrick as governor of Massachusetts.

“In Massachusetts, we know Mitt Romney. By the time he left office, Massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation – during better economic times – and household income in our state was declining. He cut education deeper than anywhere else in America.”

Although Romney guided the state to a 4.7 percent unemployment rate, Patrick said that the commonwealth trailed the national trend, and that Romney was nothing more than “a custodial governor.”

Patrick said:

“The question is not what the unemployment rate is in some abstract sense. It’s: Are we moving in a positive direction and are we bucking trends? Are we shaping our own future? We weren’t staking our own course, we weren’t shaping our own future, we were kind of slipping along.”

Despite the attention he earned with the DNC speech, Deval Patrick said he isn’t interested in running for president … just yet, at least. The governor said he wasn’t interested in running in 2016, but said that he wouldn’t rule out a bid sometime in the future, ABC OTUS reported.

“Just chatter,” Patrick told ABC News. “I’m gonna finish my term [as governor] in 2014. I’m gonna return to the private sector where I’ve spent … most of my career.”

“If there is a time sometime later to come back and serve in public life,” Deval Patrick added. “I hope I’m able to do that. Just not going to be in 2016.”