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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Carville Vs. Gov. On CNN

By Jeff Jones
Journal Politics Writer
    Gov. Bill Richardson and James Carville went toe-to-toe Wednesday night on national cable TV in their first exchange since Carville compared Richardson with Judas— and neither pulled any political punches.
    During the duo's appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" in D.C., Carville tossed out fightin' words— including "idiocy" and "foolishness"— to describe some of Richardson's comments.
    And the Hillary Clinton backer and political analyst didn't back down a bit on his comment equating Richardson with Judas for endorsing Barack Obama's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
    "I've said what I had to say, and I don't take a word of it back," Carville told King during the show, which was billed as a sort of political boxing match ("Showdown!" "Richardson vs. Carville!) by the cable news network.
    Richardson, meanwhile, repeated his position that he wasn't going to "get in the gutter" with Carville. But he heaped plenty of criticism on the Clinton camp, maintaining Carville's attacks are "typical of the negativity" the Clintons have been aiming at Obama.
    Richardson added that he expects the negative campaigning to continue as the race for the Democratic presidential nomination enters its final stretch of state contests. And he said he believes it's working in the Republicans' favor.
    "Right now, John McCain is just laughing at all of us— including probably laughing at this program, on how we're just backbiting each other," Richardson said of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
    The touted "showdown" on Larry King Live came on the evening after Clinton's 10-point win in the Pennsylvania primary.
    Richardson appeared on the show via video feed from Santa Fe, while Carville sat alongside King in the studio.
    Richardson told King that he believes Clinton was too negative during her quest to win Pennsylvania.
    There's a sense of "clinging to the throne," Richardson said, clearly referring to the Clinton camp. "You know, we're America, we're not Monaco."
    That comment set Carville off.
    "I don't know how to address that kind of idiocy, but let me try," Carville said, later adding, "Last time I checked, people out there are voting— and they're going to vote some more."
    Carville accused Obama of ducking out on debating Clinton again. But Richardson said the two candidates have taken part in more than 20 previous debates.
    "The American people know them well," Richardson said of Obama and Clinton.
    Wednesday night's matchup was the first time Richardson and Carville have shared TV face time since Carville went on a prolonged, national rant against Richardson over his Obama endorsement.
    After Richardson's March nod to Obama, Carville publicly compared the governor— a former energy secretary and U.N. ambassador under former President Bill Clinton— with Jesus' biblical betrayer.
    Carville kept up the attack for days, maintaining that Richardson had told people he would side with Hillary Clinton and firing another salvo in a letter in The Washington Post.
    Richardson has repeatedly insisted he never promised anyone he would endorse Clinton. In his own Washington Post op-ed letter, Richardson defended his past loyalty to Bill Clinton but argued that his higher loyalty to the country prompted him to go Obama's way.