Bill Richardson Withdraws Nomination as Commerce Secretary Due to Ongoing Investigation

NBC News has reported that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination for the next Commerce Secretary due to an ongoing investigation over whether he exchanged government contracts for campaign contributions, essentially, “pay-to-play.” He has denied any wrongdoing in the matter, but said that the on the investigation won’t be finished before he has to go to Senate confirmation hearings.

“Let me say unequivocally that I and my administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact,” Richardson told NBC News.

“But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.” Barack Obama also told NBC he accepted Richardson’s decision to withdraw with “deep regret.”

“Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office,” Obama said. Source: NBC News

Richardson is withdrawing because of questions raised by federal investigators, who have been looking into whether Richardson and his administration improperly steered state contracts towards CDR Financial Products, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based firm founded by David Rubin, who is a major financial contributor to Richardson.

In 2003 and 2004, around the time CDR was awarded nearly $1.5 million in state contracts, Rubin and CDR donated $100,000 to Richardson’s political action committees. I believe that where is smoke, there is a fire and this isn’t close to being resolved. Funny, Bill Richardson wanted the Secretary of State position, knowing that this investigation was a potential threat. Stay tuned folks, there will definitely be more to come on this RichardsonGate scandal.

Filed under: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaign Funds, Commerce Secretary, Ongoing Investigation

Hillary Clinton Literally Forced to Concede, Still Has Not Acknowledged Barack Obama’s Historical Win

News reports have said that Barack Obama found out about Hillary Clinton’s decision to concede through the media. It is a real shame that our political leaders in Washington had to literally force this woman to concede. Her actions are very telling of what type of president she would be–a hard-headed person like George Bush. Yes, she needed some time to wind down her campaign, but she could have been a lot more gracious to Barack Obama and even acknowledge his accomplishment as the first African American to head the ticket in the national elections. That is a feat worthy of admiration and it has been met with such across the globe. It seems to me that Hillary Clinton is a sore loser who had to be forced to concede. Obama took the high road, extolling her historical accomplishments even as she ignored his.

It seems that Hillary Clinton wants little part of a public coming together, even for the sake of unity. She had to be forced to do so. She took the stage Wednesday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference — minutes after Obama spoke — and barely mentioned him, vouching only for his commitment to Israel. Associates elsewhere in Washington were floating her name for vice president, yet Clinton did not even acknowledge that most of the political world had conferred the presidential nomination on her opponent. Very telling of what type of person Hillary Clinton really is.

Even President Bush, through his spokesman, congratulated Obama for his “historic achievement.” Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice did the same. Clinton supporters were coalescing around Obama. But nothing came from the candidate herself — at least not publicly. Obama aides, while rolling their eyes in private at the tone of Clinton’s speech, could not seem to distance themselves enough from questions about the state of the relationship. They declined to describe the senator’s reaction to the speech, which he watched backstage at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Press aides were told not to comment on the speech, which did more to whip up her supporters than encourage party unity.

Clinton congratulated Obama for an “extraordinary” race and called him a friend, but those lines were overshadowed by others. Damn, if that’s how you treat a friend, I would hate to see how she treats an enemy. Well, the chapter on Hillary Clinton’s hard fought campaign will close on Saturday and we will move on. What role she plays in Barack Obama’s journey to the White House is unknown at this point, but I would hope it will not be in the capacity of the vice president. She could not muster up a shred of decency to acknowledge her opponent’s accomplishment, how can she work together with him as the vice president? My choices for Barack Obama’s VP would include Senator Bayh of Indiana, Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, or to float a long shot, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City. He could also pick elder statesman Senator Biden, who though he had a little brouhaha with plagiarism, still has a spectacular record in the Senate. Spoken in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I say of Hillary Clinton’s concession: Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty we’ll be free from Hillary Clinton at last! Just my thoughts, you be the judge…..

Filed under: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Governor Rendell, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Senator Bayh