New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary-designate this afternoon for the new administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
With an almost audible sigh of relief barely two weeks before his inauguration Obama, in a printed statement that won't provide archival video footage, said he accepted the resignation-before-actually-taking-office "with deep regret."
And 16 days before becoming president, Obama sought to turn the PR smudge and federal probe of Richardson, his first Latino Cabinet pick, and his government into a patriotic plus: "It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time."
It may also be a measure of the inadequacy of the new Obama administration's vetting process that it somehow missed or ignored the ongoing and widely-reported grand jury testimony over alleged incidents in 2004 in New Mexico, part of a broad federal investigation of selling state services. It would seem to be an obvious something for the experienced Richardson to include when completing the 63-page questionaire given to potential Obama appointees.
While everyone was enjoying their holidays and watching Obama's Hawaiian vacation, word continued to leak that Richardson and his gubernatorial aides are under investigation by a federal grand jury probing the possibility that they steered state bond business to a Beverly Hills firm in return for $100,000 in donations to two Richardson PACs back in 2004. (See original Ticket item from Dec. 26 below.)
Unspoken by both Obama and Richardson today was the political reality that the Democrat-controlled Senate, which would have to confirm Democrat Richardson for the new Democratic president, is already in a mortifying fight with Illinois' Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich over a similar federal "pay-to-play" probe of his operations, including the alleged auction of his nomination to fill Obama's now-vacant U.S. Senate seat with another Democrat.
Richardson says he has ordered full state cooperation with the feds. Blagojevich has chosen to fight the federal allegations and Democratic demands that he resign or at least not nominate a Senate replacement. Last week he named former Illinois Democratic Atty. Gen. Roland Burris.
As The Ticket noted this morning, the governor created a real problem for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid by placing him in the awkward position of barring Burris, an experienced African American Democratic officeholder, from taking the seat of a less-experienced black Democrat, Obama, and becoming the only African American in the Senate.
Both Richardson and Blagojevich deny any wrongdoing. In his statement today the New Mexico governor, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination himself, and whose perfectly-timed rejection of Sen. Hillary Clinton's candidacy and endorsement of Obama boosted the Illinois senator's campaign significantly.
Richardson said the investigation would show his innocence but was likely to drag on for weeks or months, affecting the confirmation process and his ability to work in Washington. Not to mention distract the public and media from the desired message of change to believe in. The Blagojevich fight, not so easy for the new administration or Reid to end, is also likely to drag on for weeks or months.