Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for Commerce Secretary is the first bump in the road for the new administration. It has been confirmed that Richardson has withdrawn his nomination.
The question that has come up and up and up over the past few weeks is whether Richardson exchanged New Mexico governmental contracts for political donations during his brief run for the nomination of the Democratic Party for the presidency.
Appearing now to be under a federal investigation, it was decided either by Richardson or the Obama team that Richardson would not be a nominee for a seat in the new cabinet. Richardson denies any charges, but with an ongoing investigation that will not be concluded prior to the Senate hearings on his nomination, efforts are being made to smooth out this first bump in the Obama administration’s road to the White House.
“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 said in a statement. “But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.”
Obama stated that he accepted the withdrawal with “deep regret.” We are left to wonder if Obama’s regret is in accepting the withdrawal of Richardson’s name or in having nominated him now that the governor is under investigation. Perhaps the next bump in the road is going to be the Blagojevich fiasco although it resembles more of a dark cloud than a bump.
Richardson was a highly qualified candidate for the Commerce Secretary, bringing years of experience from previous stints in the cabinet. However, it must be assumed that Governor Bill Richardson did the right thing in light of the present investigation. We can only hope that his name will be cleared and he will live to serve another day.
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