BOSTON

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick waded into the contentious battle for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, endorsing Barack Obama as the "book smart and street smart" candidate during an evening rally on Boston Common.

Patrick also took a few veiled swipes at Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying that the White House doesn't just need to change parties, but needs a new generation of leadership from outside of the Washington bubble.

"I don't care if the next president is a Washington insider. I care about what's in his heart. I don't care whether the next president has experience in the White House. I care whether he understands life in your house," Patrick said.

Patrick has ties to the Clintons, having served in the 1990s as head of the Justice Department's civil rights division under former President Bill Clinton.

Obama picked up on the theme, trying to cast himself as an outsider and Hillary Clinton as part of the Washington elite, without naming her directly.

"I'm puzzled when I hear people say 'elect me' because I know how to play the game in Washington better," Obama said. "We don't need someone who knows how to play the game better, we need someone to put an end to the game playing."

The Clinton campaign points to her support from other key political figures in Massachusetts, including U.S. Reps. James McGovern and Richard Neal and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

During a 40-minute speech, Obama touched on many of the themes of his campaign, promising an overhaul of the nation's health care system, affordable higher education, and a rapid withdrawal of troops from Iraq during the first 16 months of the next administration.

He also mocked those who he said have criticized him for being a "hope peddler" and a "hope monger."

"That's all right. I stand guilty as charged. I am a hopeful man. I am an optimist about America," Obama said, echoing a central theme of Patrick's gubernatorial campaign.