Who Is Deval Patrick?

The media buzz of the day is that Gov. Patrick's limousine liberal constituents are preparing to abandon ship in the wake of his many missteps since taking office. Patrick pleads "Don't give up on me," while lefties whine about his calls to people he regulates on behalf of the worst predatory lender in America.

My question: Why so surprised?

Deval Patrick is a millionaire corporate lawyer who made his money taking high-profile jobs at businesses after they were caught engaging in bad behavior. If you've been caught screwing over black people, you hired Deval Patrick and he provided good corporate cover--at a generous price, of course.

Coca-Cola had just settled a $193 million racial discrimination suit when the brought Patrick on board. Ameriquest was under fire for predatory lending to black, Hispanic and low-income borrowers when they reached out to Deval. Patrick was sent to Texaco by the courts after their racial discrimination imbroglio, but stayed on at a comfortable salary afterwards.

This work as a "fixer" for companies in trouble with the black community covers nearly the entire time line of Patrick's private sector career. Rich, mostly white, corporate bigwigs get in trouble, and Deval Patrick shows up with a smile and an open wallet.

They gave him big cars, helicopter rides, personal secretaries, etc. In exchange, they expected him to make key phone calls to key players and use his influence to keep their corporate cash flowing.

Today, Governor Patrick expects the taxpayers to give him a big car, helicopter rides, personal secretaries, etc., while he uses his influence to help his rich buddies.

And this is a surprise?

Only to people who haven't been paying attention.