Obama and Patrick

Throughout his campaign, Deval Patrick has been compared to Illinois Senator Barack Obama. I always thought those comparisons were easy given that they are both African-American, Harvard lawyers and electrifying speakers, but ultimately superficial.

Well, today, Senator Obama gave the keynote address at the Harvard Law School Celebration of Black Alumni, where he received the Harvard Law School Association Award. Before breaking into the meat of his speech which focused on the Hurricane Katrina aftermath and the "Empathy Deficit" in government, Obama made the comparison himself. I don't have the exact quote, but the Senator recalled that in his own primary, many people thought he was the best candidate, and would be the best Senator, but doubted his ability to win a contested primary against several other popular figures. He then mentioned that there was someone there that a lot of people thought would make the best governor, and pointed Deval Patrick out to the crowded room. With that endorsement, I have to imagine that Patrick had a pretty good fundraising weekend.

Update: The Boston Globe has more information on the speech.

Update Update: The address can be viewed in full online here. Realplayer is required, of course.