Gov. Deval Patrick heaped praise on his pal president-elect Barack Obama today for choosing former rival Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State appointee, saying the choice shows, “enormous self-confidence.”

“He’s going to have people around him who don’t all agree on everything that he believes. I think it makes for better decision-making and I think it makes for better government,” Patrick said. The governor will be joining Obama at a National Governor’s Association event in Philadelphia this afternoon.

He also said Clinton and Obama’s other choices will bring, “a balance of experience and fresh ideas and competing points of view.”

Patrick made the comments after announcing 54-year-old Ralph D. Gants as his pick for the state Supreme Judicial Court. The choice, which must be approved by the Governor’s Council, is Patrick’s second since taking office.

Patrick added that a Medicaid agreement worth $21.2 billion is still in the negotiation phase and that he is prepared to make more cuts to the state budget this fiscal year if need be.

Gov. Deval Patrick will cut 107 of the take home vehicles listed below as a cost-saving measure, but his administration hasn’t said which ones. Here is a link to a list of the take-home vehicles provided by the administration before the cuts.

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Transportation committee co-chair Joe Wagner (D-Chicopee) said bills aiming to freeze tolls until 2010 and hike the gas tax by 11 cents could get a hearing as soon as next Wednesday. Further legislation dealing with privatization of the Massachusetts Turnpike filed by the Transportation committee chair in the Senate could be heard in two weeks, Wagner said.

“The proposed tolls got everyone’s attention, the proposed gas tax increase was just a reaction. These are just two steps in a multi-step process, ” Wanger said. ”We need to have a legislative dialogue to address them.”

The announcement comes after Gov. Deval Patrick defended his $100 million toll hike, and said lawmakers are “touchy” about discussing comprehensive transportation reform.

“To the folks who think a gas tax is a great idea, let me tell you: if the best you’ve got is a gas tax that enables us to avoid this one round of toll increases, then how do we make the case to the public that they should spend more for the same confluence of problems and the same inherently inefficient system?” Patrick was quoted saying in the State House News.

Patrick and lawmakers are scrambling to address $2.2 billion in debt at the Turnpike, along with a trio of risky loans which could trigger $447 million in payouts.

Wagner responded to Patrick’s claim that the gas tax is a piecemeal solution, saying the toll hike is just as piecemeal until the governor enlightens lawmakers and the public about his own comprehensive plan.

“A toll increase is just as piecemeal as a gas tax when it doesn’t come with a comprehensive plan,” Wagner said.

Wagner said he believes the governor is trying to update the state’s old fashioned transportation system, but so far Patrick has only alluded to dismantling the Turnpike and using additional Registry fees and tolls to address the problem.

State Auditor Joe DeNucci found the state’s Medicaid program has handed out more than $12 million it didn’t need to pay. The audit found that $4.9 million of the overpayments were for medical equipment like wheelchairs which applicants failed to prove they needed or that they even received.

He also found $7 million in savings just from finding better rates for the same equipment, and $1.3 million in savings from switching to an annual rent fee rather than a current monthly fee for a phone device which ensures medicaid clients get prompt medical treatment in an emergency.

Lawmakers are coming out of the woodwork to suggest alternatives to the toll increased advanced by Turnpike board members two weeks ago and the gas tax suggested by House Speaker Sal DiMasi.

 Sen. Anthony Galluccio (D-Cambridge) has suggested taxing SUVs and other “low fuel efficiency vehicles.” He adds that a gas tax increase should only kick in if gas remains below a certain price. “Such a tax is more respectful to consumers while recognizing the burden of high gas prices and an increase to the gas tax on working families,” he writes. He also suggests the state should allow additional commercial development along the Pike.

Sen. Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) also urged Gov. Deval Patrick to halt the proposed New Bedford/Fall River rail line, saying the state can’t afford to continue spending on capital projects at the MBTA. The move would be part of a comprehensive transportation plan, Tisei writes,  which would develop the state-owned land along the Pike. Tisei details his suggestions in his blog www.scalingthehill.com.

Meanwhile, Sen. Steve Baddour (D-Methuen) is waiting to hear back from Pike director Alan LeBovidge about whether the Pike could raise tolls by $70 million instead of the current $100 million hike. The first public hearing on the tolls changes is Dec. 10 at the Transportation Building in Boston from 6:30 to 10:30. Other public hearings will be held on Dec. 15 in Lynn, Dec. 17 in Framingham, and Jan. 7 in Worcester.