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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Will Richardson Take Job If It's Not State Department?

By David Roybal
Of the Journal
      Gov. Bill Richardson is all but certain to be offered a position in Barack Obama's administration. But will it be a position that he will accept? The question takes on new meaning as recent events suggest that Hillary Clinton is in line to become secretary of state.
       That would be the ideal job for Richardson, says the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda. Its members think Richardson's experience as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the 1990s and his high-profile work as a diplomatic troubleshooter dating back to his years in the U.S. House have helped prepare him to serve as our country's leading diplomat.
       “His appointment would send a powerful message to Latinos throughout our country as well as to our neighbors in this hemisphere,” Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, told the Associated Press.
       Indeed, few people are as prepared as Richardson to serve as secretary of state. He personifies Obama's desire to rely increasingly on aggressive diplomacy and less on saber rattling and force while addressing global issues. And Richardson's appointment would reassure Hispanics that the fresh breeze of inclusion stirred by the election of an African American did not end after the votes were counted.
       Educated in diplomacy, Richardson has dreamed of serving as secretary of state since he was wet behind the ears. No one has known better than he that he needed to put in his time, to establish clout within diplomatic circles before serious consideration for the post.
       Ironically, the experience as governor that Richardson aggressively pursued to fortify his résumé as an administrator for later pursuits at the national level might end up denying him the progression he so desires. So, too, could the high-profile attention he gained while chairing the 2004 Democratic National Convention, again, an assignment courted by Richardson to bolster his national stature.
       Richardson's work as governor and activity surrounding his chairmanship of the Democratic convention four years ago apparently are being examined by investigators at the U.S. Justice Department.
       Late in 2007, a Richardson ally summoned before a federal grand jury said investigators looking into the awarding of lucrative state contracts tried to get him to “imply that the governor was doing something wrong.” Furious, securities broker Guy Riordan asserted that investigators working within the Republican national administration were on a political witch-hunt as part of their probe that eventually led to prison time for former state treasurers Michael Montoya and Robert Vigil.
       More recently it was learned that the Justice Department is investigating dealings between Richardson's administration and a California firm that in 2004 landed a contract for nearly $1 million as part of the state's billion-dollar transportation program. Albuquerque Journal reporter Thom Cole reported in August that cash contributions to two political action committees created by Richardson were made by the company and/or its head around the time that the state contract was awarded.
       One of Richardson's political action committees was used to help pay for his expenses and those of his aides in connection with the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
       Richardson has publicly encouraged members of his administration to cooperate with the investigation.
       Nothing has surfaced to indicate that Richardson has broken any laws. And even with prison sentences against two former state treasurers in hand along with multiple plea deals in felony cases tied to courthouse construction in Albuquerque, an internal Justice Department review has already concluded that undue political pressure has been exerted in investigations targeting New Mexico Democrats.
       Crooks have been busted, yet there could be merit to Riordan's assertion that Richardson, at least, has been a target of a political witch-hunt waged by the Republican-led Justice Department. But can Obama take that chance as he works to fill the highest-ranking positions of his new administration?
       Arguably, Obama's meticulous campaign for the presidency suggests he will not. Our president-elect has shown that he likes his decisions to be well-researched and carefully considered.
       If the very formidable Hillary Clinton has become Obama's preference for secretary of state, Richardson would have to consider an offer of something less. Would the offer be attractive enough, though, to take Richardson away from New Mexico's Roundhouse and what he professes to be the best job he's ever had?
       David Roybal was a speech writer for Bill Richardson during his stint as U.S. energy secretary. He can be reached at (505) 351-4053.
       

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