10 Questions for Deval Patrick

Born poor in Chicago, where he shared a bedroom with his mother and sister, Deval Patrick became a prominent civil rights lawyer and was sworn in last month as Governor of Massachusetts, his first elected office. A few weeks into the job, Patrick, 50, talked to TIME's Perry Bacon Jr. about the pitfalls of a "color-blind" America, the likelihood of his state's universal health-care coverage being adopted nationwide and the politics of baseball.

When you were growing up, did you ever imagine you would be Governor?

It's not what I planned for, but you know that phrase, Life is what happens...

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