Ok, who out there thinks that Richardson is doing this out of purely altruistic reasons and it has nothing at all to do with snagging that priceless VP slot he’s been looking for? Anyone? Don’t be shy, raise your hands.
Ok, here’s a little challenge. Katharine Hepburn once said of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire: “She gives him sex and he gives her class.” So, the challenge is, what does Richardson give Obama and vice versa, I mean, besides the hispanic vote in the fall and a VP slot? Actually, isn’t it too late to capture the hispanic vote for the primaries except in Puerto Rico? Is Obama worried about Puerto Rico and what does that say about The Math? *OR* is Obama saying, “My plan is to completely diss FL and by extension, CA, NJ, NY, MA, AZ, MI, OH and TX, but don’t worry, I’m going to give you a hispanic leader for VP and we’ll all be friends again. Isn’t that cool? Now, make me the nominee, damnit!” (Am I reading too much into this?)
In other news…
Paul Krugman channels Prince (the artist formerly known as a symbol) in Partying Like it’s 1929. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Er, Robert Rubin on NPR this morning said something along these same lines when he was talking about leverage and liquidity. I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout investment markets but I got the shivvers when he said something to the effect, “Nooo, we don’t need no stupid regulation on what they’re doooing. We need regulation on how much we’re able to lose without suffering tremendous loses.”, or something to that effect. In other words, playing the market and creating new “instruments” is all ticketyboo but that whole risk thing? Yeah, government has to be better about letting people get caught holding the bag. Hmmmm….
Filed under: Presidential Election 2008 | Tagged: Bill Richardson, Paul Krugman, Robert Rubin |
The Confluence 
I think Richardson will be the VP to help Obama with the Latino votes and maybe some women. Richardson has always been a diplomat and a gentleman and would not hurt to be on the ticket. However, I do not think he is the brightest bulb on the tree and I am not sure if the Latinos and women will fall for this. Many of us are pissed at the whole DNC primary process and vow to stay home in NOV.
Or how masses of people are being laid off, Chrysler, Citigroup, Bear Stearns, Delta, and NOTHING happens to the unemployment figures. Exactly what are they counting?
Good Morning riverdaughter,
I’m completely confused by the Richardson thing. Especially after the Kerry & McCaskill thing yesterday. Does Obama think this stuff is helping?
In this weird upside-down-election IS it helping?
Why Richardson? Why now? Why going into a Good Friday news cycle? (shaking head)
While I’m confused about THAT, I’m actually way more interested in the economy. So I’m going to run off to read the Krugman piece. I’ll be back, but it will probably be after work. 😦
tiffany,
Richardson is not a gentleman. He has a history with sexual harassment as governor, I believe.
And Latinos will not vote for Obama simply because he has Richardson or any other Latino VP on the ticket–especially against McCain, a man who took a lot of heat for supporting comprehensive immigration reform.
Obama cannot win the GE. Before Wright, I was laughing about his prospects, but I will be utterly gutted about those prospects if he’s the nominee (it’ll be a brokered convention, so we’ll wait this out). I don’t want any Democratic nominee to be throttled, but that’s what will happen to Obama and because he brought race into this, it will be most ugly.
Richardson’s endorsement could have helped before TX, I think (Chicano community).
I do not know if it is going to help with the Caribbean community though. It will not do a thing for Cuban-Americans, that is for sure, and although I do not really know much about P. Rico, I once heard BTD at TL say something about Puerto Rico going for Hillary.
His experience could lend some gravitas to Barack, though. God knows he could use
Although it has been discussed extensibly in blogs, it would seem like the MSM is finally picking up on Barack’s strategies when it comes to recounts in MI?FL.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120605697827253319.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Opinion piece on WP: “The Speech: A Brilliant Fraud
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032003017.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
I suspect the Richardson endorsement is as simple as trying to change the subject… but apparently it is too little too late… they are still talking about the race issue this morning.
Upstate: You’ve been hanging with at bad crowd at the WSJ and Charles Krauthammer. Congrats on maintaining your sanity.
The Puerto Rican community in NY is firmly behind Hillary, and she has strong support in PR itself. I don’t think Richardson is going to change that. He was a big disappointment as a presidential candidate, and I don’t think that he’s going to help in the campaign trail. Geez, he couldn’t even get the right answer to “do you think being gay is a choice” even after Melissa Etheridge gave him a second chance to answer.
I’m surprised he’s going to Obama, given his ties to Bill, but I don’t think its going to matter much.
I’ve been off line and off TV since yesterday morning, but I gather there was a big brouhaha last night on MSNBC about Obama’s passport records. Sounds outrageous, with a strong whiff of partisan politicking on the part of a McCain-friendly State Department, but according to Mr. litigatormom, KO and Dan Abrams were treating it as if it was going to be a huge political boost for Obama. However, it was buried in the back pages of the NYTthis morning. What’s the blogosphere (the rational and the irrational) been saying about it?
Thanks lmom. I remember Hillary bringing up the issue of full-statehood/independence a while ago. I thought that was smart of her, since it resonates with the PR electorate.
Also: at NQ they have S. Steele’s (long) interview on Obama as a bargainers vs challenger. I understand Mr. Steele is no liberal, but I thought it was interesting, nevertheless. If his theory is correct, that would explain why Oprah’s endorsement was so benefitial and why Rev. Wright’s views had to be hushed… BTW: when is Oprah coming to PA?
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/03/21/shelby-steele-obama-the-bargainer/
litigatormom: The passport thing is getting a lot of attention but it is focussed almost exclusively on Obama. They are missing the point. ANY Democrat anywhere is subject to the intense scrutiny with the full faith and credit of the Bush administration. They can do that. They have the power. So they fire a couple of contractors. So what. They’re business is to compile a dossier on the Democratic candidates so they can bludgeon them on tiny minutiae later. That’s what they do. It’s hardly restricted to Obama but they mined the data on Hillary in the 90’s. In an act of premature revelation, they’ve shot their wad and now they have to work with what they’ve got. But Obama? Potential gold mine. Why wait until August?
Richardson’s history of harassment is shaky at best, meaning there isn’t a whole lot of evidence. That said, I unsubscribed from Richardson’s mailing list. This definitely seems selfishly motivated and I mentioned that in the “reason for unsubscribing” box.
Richardson couldn’t get Hispanic support when he was in the race and won’t be able to help Obama. Obama has already ended that relationship and Richardson is tarnishing his cred with this endorsement.
As mentioned, though, the timing and way this came about is rather interesting. Obama made a much bigger deal about Lincoln Chafee’s endorsement. I almost feel embarrassed for Richardson–and he was one of my top choices.
gqm: But let’s say that this *is* an attempt to show the superdelegates that Obama has a plan to win back Florida in the fall, what does it say about a campaign that continues to see us in terms of our race and ethnicity? And what about the faithful Democratic base who through no fault of its own is caucasian and female?
The more I see, the less I like.
This my idiot governor! What a TIN EAR, to endorse now. If he’s so great on foreign policy, why didn’t he do better in the primaries? He is not all that loved down here in NM lately.
The first thing he did after he was first elected governor was to drop the tax rates on the rich folks. His pushing the huge “welfare” package for Branson’s spaceport, by pushing a sales tax which hits our poor population hard, was another stroke of “genius.” Of course, his own business dealings in the past wouldn’t make this a surprise if people knew about them.
Bill Richardson is just another one who wants to be a “player.” He’s another “GOP-lite” in many ways. This is another negative for Obama for people who know about Richardson…
I doubt that Richardson is at all useful in FL. The “Hispanic community” is actually quite diverse. Richardson is Mexican-American, which is different than Cuban, Chilean, Panamanian, Puerto Rican, etc. If Obama thinks Richardson will help with all of those groups he’s not very bright. Hillary wins Hispanics generally because they all trust her and know she has delivered in the past. They trusted Hillary over Richardson and are not like the white male liberal bloggers in that tossing them a rhetorical or symbolic bone every now and then is going to make everything happy-times.
It is happening right here, live, on my TeeVee. Yes, Obama is speaking to the huddles masses of Portland, OR. Richardson just endorsed. What a tool. Told us all how much respect he has for Hillary and Bill, but Barack is the messiah (okay, he didn’t really say messiah). Since Hillary won New Mexico how does this endorsement square with the whole supers must vote like their constituents thing?
I am watching him live. He is surrounded by my fellow Oregonians. It is a speech, not a press conference or a debate. And yet, I am unmoved. I don’t see what everyone sees in him. What is it that has all these people in a frenzy? These are serious questions. I really don’t get it. This country is in such serious trouble. Why does this man have ay traction at all?
Richardson’s endorsement is too late to do any good. He’s just a typical Hispanic.
Kidding, of course.
No sour grapes from this Hillary supporter. I like Richardson.
I wish he had endorsed Hillary, but we should all be darn glad he did not come out before the Texas primaries. I’m sure the Obama campaign dangled all sortsa promises to him behind closed doors, trying like heck to rescue their campaign that is disintegrating before their eyes this week.
Of the “big three” (Richardson, Edwards, Gore), Obama now has one in his hip pocket. I doubt it will rescue him.
I watched Edwards on Leno last night, and he was totally un-committed. I bet ya the Obama people were working to get them both come out the same day, but he is remaining neutral, and Gore, will be big one, indeed.
GO HILLARY!
what does Richardson give Obama
He gives him his (Richardson’s) foreign policy creds. And I guess Bill R. gets the veep slot.
I think there are few pluses for the Obama campaign:
One, Richardson opens the door for other automatic delagates to start walking over. He’s got the FP credibility, too.
Two: he’s the “typical brown-skinned guy” who can silently back-up that Sen. Obama is post-racial and not voting for Sen. Obama means you are in the KKK. It doesn’t matter if he’s Mexian-American—for some low information voters, he’s the Hispanic guy working for the black guy.
Three: He got the line out there about being a once-in-a-lifetime-candidate. Just start repeating it over and over.
Negatives:
One: Richardson’s transparent ambition.
Two: Member that automatic delegates should follow the will of the people? So, now, who exactly won the NM primary? I fergit.
Three: Gov. Richardson may put his foot in his mouth with a Kerryesque reference to voting for Sen. Obama to prove you’re not in the KKK. See, it doesn’t work as well if you actually come out and say it.
And finally, I betcha Gov. Sebllius is crapping in rage. I’m pretty sure was going to be the VP for Sen. Obama—not a bad choice as she is well-liked in Kansas, shows crossover Rep potential (she did it), she’s smart, and she’s a chick.