Swing State Project

Patrick, 48, the first African-American candidate for governor in the state's history, also took a swipe at his probable Democratic primary opponent, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, who he said represents the old politics and has a record of caution and an insider focus.

That earned him a headline with the word, "outsider" -- but it was clear it was his word not the Globes.

Here is the early contrast:

On education, he said he wanted a public system, from kindergarten to college, second to none. He said he wants smaller classes, after-school programs, to ensure school safety, and to ''honor teachers as professionals."

He said he views charter schools as a fine idea, but only as laboratories for innovation that can be transferred to public classrooms. He said he supports the MCAS test, but said it should be only one part of a more complete evaluation of students.

On social issues, Patrick said he opposes the death penalty and strongly supports same-sex marriage, positions likely to appeal to the state's liberal Democrats. Reilly supports the death penalty and, while he at first opposed same-sex marriage, has recently supported it. They both oppose Governor Mitt Romney's initiative to roll back the state income tax.

Patrick stopped short of saying he would sign a tax bill to pay for initiatives. Instead, he said he wanted to challenge voters to decide how to pay for programs and other increases they want: either with new taxes or cuts in other areas of the state budget.

Secretary of State William Galvin is also considering a bid.

The AP say's Patrick has already donated $100,000 and the Globe cites unnamed sources saying he could go as high as $500K.

My early view is that he has a good thing going every time people use his name and Obama's in the same sentence.

But one factor with even more potential is that he had a glowing diary from Fredrick Clarkson on Daily Kos. If Patrick can ignite the netroots, this will get interesting.

WEBSITE: Deval Patrick