Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick talked about his relationship with his predecessor and current Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney, on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Patrick revealed his feelings on Bain Capital and how Romney’s role at the firm has found its way into the political discourse.
“Bain is a perfectly fine company. They have a role in the private economy, and I’ve got a lot of friends there,” said Patrick. “I think the Bain strategy has been distorted in some of the public discussions.” Bain Capital is one of the world’s leading private, alternative asset management firms whose affiliates manage approximately $60 billion.
Patrick brought the conversation back to what he believes the concern some voters have with Mitt Romney. The governor argued that the real question is not about the efficacy Romney’s business practices but instead what he’s accompmp0lished politically. Americans may still be unsure if Romney’s ambition and successes in corporate America are enough to guarantee his ability to serve as president.
Patrick who is now serving his second term as governor described the GOP nominee as a gentleman and although the two did not have a lot of interaction, the transition between the two administrations was smooth.
Still, governor was not entirely full of praise for Romney. Patrick says Romney’s campaign platform is similar to the the one he proposed as he campaigned for governor in 2002. According to Patrick, Romney told voters in Massachusetts that he would bring jobs to the state, a promise he believes the GOP nominee was not able to fulfill.
“He sold to the people of Massachusetts when he was running for governor the same lines he’s trying to sell to the United States and it just didn’t happen that way,” Patrick said on Morning Joe. “He told us he would be about creating more jobs – we were 47th out of 50 [states] during his time in office… he left a structural deficit of over a billion.”
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