Richardson's Bow Out: Why Now?

You can read the complete statements of Obama and Richardson about the Governor bowing out of the Commerce Secretary nomination here. (Also see my previous post.)

Personally, I have to question Obama's calculations in picking Richardson if the grand jury investigation into CDR Financial Products -- only a small part of which involves Richardson -- is such a problem now. The wide-ranging probe by the FBI has been going on a long time, and was no secret. Obama knew about it when he named Richardson.

What's changed since Obama announced his choice for Commerce Secretary? I suppose something seriously damaging to Richardson could have emerged from the investigation in the last few days, but I doubt it. Note that Obama makes a point in his statement to say he may well ask Richardson to serve his administration in the future, once the investigation concludes:

"It is a measure of his [Richardson's] willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time. Although we must move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson's decision, I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration."

The Blago-Burris-Reid Connection
What definitely has changed since the Richardson pick is that the Blago-Burris-Reid thing has blown up in Obama's face, thanks in no small part to the wacky over-reaction of Sen. Harry Reid and other Dem Senators, as well as the Obama team itself. They've managed to box themselves into a corner because of early threats and statements, and now they are stuck having to create a very public scene if they won't seat Roland Burris when he shows up in Washington on Tuesday to fill Obama's seat.

I don't get what legitimate legal grounds the Dem Senators have to stop the Burris appointment. Whatever one many think of Blago, he's is still a legally seated governor with the legal right to make the pick, and Burris is definitely qualified to serve. Blago has been charged in a complaint from the U.S. Attorney, but he has not been indicted by a grand jury. In fact, Patrick Fitzgerald has asked for a 90-day extension to go before the grand jury -- on top of the 30 days he was granted when he filed the complaint.

Given the pounding Obama et al. will no doubt get next week if they try to stop Burris, it's certainly conceivable that Richardson was "encouraged" to withdraw to cut off potential criticism about his (and thus Obama's) ethics. If you're going to stop a legitimate Senate appointment because of ACCUSATIONS of wrongdoing, it would be hard to defend the Richardson appointment when some of his actions are reportedly being probed by a grand jury.

To my mind, Obama and Reid et al. should have let the Burris appointment go. The Dems need every vote they can get in the Senate and, by all accounts, Burris is a loyal Dem -- unlike, say, Joe Lieberman, who was defended to the hilt by Obama despite his disloyalties and worse. As for the Senators, do recall how they gave convicted felon Ted Stevens a standing ovation -- with Reid providing lots of praise -- when he was forced to resign his seat because of a fraud conviction. As it stands, the Obama seat may well sit empty for months, depriving Dems of a much needed vote when Obama tries to "hit the ground running," as he puts it.

We All Pay for Early Miscues
Bottom line: The loss of Richardson's Commerce Secretary appointment may well be another sad ramification of the mishandling of the process to get a replacement in Obama's seat. Who did the mishandling? Of course Blago himself is front and center, but let's not forget the odd and over the top responses of Obama and the Democratic Senate leadership. We all lose due to the series of miscalculations and hubristic actions that have brought us to a disappointing place as Obama gets set to take over the oval office. I expected better, didn't you?

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