Pictures from the Deval Event at UMASS Dartmouth

Here are some pictures from the event:

Deval Patrick speaking to the crowd.

The College Democrats posing with Deval.

Deval and I while my friend Sam is taking the picture (thanks Sam!)

Some things I learned from this speech:

1. I really need a better digital camera. I took two pictures with Deval and neither of them came out well. I took about 18 pictures at the event... and the first two were the best. Yikes.

2. The Faneuil Hall rally was fun; there was a real kinetic energy, thousands of people and a rousing speech that didn't disappoint. However, nothing compares to an intimate setting where anyone has a chance to ask a question and anyone can sit up right close to him while he speaks (I was two or three rows away). He really knew how to speak to a smaller audience. He was funny when he should have been funny, specific when he needed to be and had a way of reaching everyone who was there (and, while it was a small venue, there was still probably about a hundred people there).

3. He's candid. Especially during Q&A, if someone asked him a question in which he wasn't an expert, he didn't pretend to be. He offered goals, not promises. If there was a question he wasn't an expert on, he openly admitted it instead of trying to hackishly answer the question anyway.

4. The Boston Globe is a weapon of mass destruction when it comes to his campaign. Sadly, it seems like an establishment paper that wants the same old politicians in the same old offices. Take any story they write about Deval Patrick with a grain of salt. I feel naive, but there was a time and age when I thought the Boston Globe was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Sometimes I have too much pride in all things Boston.

5. I'm extremely confident that Deval Patrick will whip some serious butt in the debates and as he continues to travel around the state, speaking to the people on a personal basis, being a true grassroots candidate. My bet is that a significant amount of people who vote for him during the primaries will have had at least one opportunity to shake his hand if they really wanted to - and a significant portion will probably have gotten that handshake... like me.

I took detailed notes during the entire time and I'm going to really analyze them (and my handwriting) and discuss what he talked about during the speech. It was very different than his stump speech at the Faneuil Hall rally and he talked in detail (and got a huge positive reaction) for his stances on things like Cape Wind, the shameful state of public higher education in Massachusetts and what he means by being "no ordinary leader."

I was continually surprised at the detail of his knowledge and his command on issues that weren't even major issues throughout the state, such as extending the T transit system to New Bedford. Do other politicians familiarize themselves with all things Massachusetts like Deval Patrick seemingly has? I promise that I'll give my complete take on the speech in the morning/afternoon, including direct quotes and more pictures (if they aren't too fuzzy).

Continue to pay attention to the governor's race. There is no more important political office for a state than Governor, that's the one politician who effects our lives the most, more than a Congressman, Senator, Attorney General or even President. Let's make sure that Massachusetts elects a Mr. Governor we can all be proud of.