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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Richardson's VP Obituary Might Be a Bit Premature

By David Roybal
For the Journal
      Even absent insurance scams and the like, obituaries have been known to be printed prematurely. I contemplated writing last week that Bill Richardson was dead meat among prospects in Democrat Barack Obama's search for a vice presidential nominee, and then Patti Solis Doyle came along — again.
    Now, who knows about Richardson?
    In discussions about Obama's search for a running mate, Richardson is still known in influential circles as a “Judas.” Solis Doyle? Well! She's regarded by some to be worse than a chupacabra, which is the term used by one national political blogger while referring to Democrats who are so soured by how their party's primary season ended that they now say they will shun Obama and vote Republican.
    Solis Doyle has been the longtime friend and confidante of Hillary Clinton. She was Hillary's scheduler beginning in 1991 during Bill Clinton's first term as president. In name, at least, she was Hillary's presidential campaign manager until she was pushed out in February. That's when the Clinton camp suddenly recognized that Hillary would not emerge as the Democrats' presumed nominee after votes were counted on Super Tuesday.
    Solis Doyle boasted publicly at least once that when she spoke, it was really Hillary speaking. Because of her status, she took heat in news reports about Clinton's faltering campaign early this year. And then came her humiliating ouster, which only added to the media chatter.
    It's doubtful that anyone since then has expected to see the two women sharing space on a sidewalk, much less strategic political insights.
    Once Obama claimed victory at the end of the primary season earlier this month much talk turned to pairing Obama and Clinton for a Democratic “dream ticket.” Something had to be done to win over Clinton's huge legions of supporters.
    Who could have faulted Richardson if he looked on from along the Rio Grande with at least a little envy. Oh, his aborted run for the Democratic presidential nomination didn't garner anything near the amount of support that Clinton roused. Clinton lost the primary race by a hair; Richardson averaged out at about 4 percent of the vote in early primaries before dropping out.
    Still, Richardson made a truly stirring televised endorsement of Obama late in the primary season when Obama was hoping to get uncommitted superdelegates to move his way. It came as Richardson's interest in running for Veep was well known to Obama and pretty much anyone who breathes.
    Richardson's chances of getting on the Democratic ticket seemed doomed, though, when a so-called Clinton enemies list began circulating a couple of weeks ago among Hillary supporters. Richardson, who had served Bill Clinton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and then energy secretary, was expected to be among the Clinton family faithful prior to his endorsement of Obama. He became a “Judas” to many who remained at the Clintons' side.
    Picking Richardson as his veep nominee hardly seemed like the way for Obama to court die-hard Hillary backers. Richardson was never more than a long shot to get on the ticket. With the “enemies list” drawing attention, it appeared that at best Richardson would have to wait till after the general election to secure any kind of appointment from Obama — if he had any to make at that point.
    Then came word that Obama had approved Solis Doyle to serve as chief of staff for whomever he eventually picks as his running mate. It was a peculiar move under any circumstance; mind-boggling given the very delicate dance under way between the Obama and Clinton camps.
    The easy conclusion: Clinton will not get the VP nomination that she so covets; hiring Solis Doyle now is meant to get people to begin accepting that eventuality. But one or two pundits suggest that mutual respect still exists between Clinton and Solis Doyle, and that Solis Doyle's hiring now signals that Clinton will be picked for the ticket later.
    If that latter suggestion were to muster credibility, then who are we to conclude that Richardson, himself, is entirely out of the running?
    Berserk? Maybe. Nonetheless, hold the obits.
    And hold on to your hats because this new brand of politics promised by Obama could make for quite a ride. Commenting on politics might require that we all go back to school.
    David Roybal was a speechwriter for Bill Richardson during his stint as U.S. energy secretary. Roybal can be reached at (505) 351-4053.
   

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