Richardson says pressure from Clinton camp 'really ticked me off'

[babylonsister]

Richardson says pressure from Clinton camp 'really ticked me off'
Shari Vialpando / Associated Press


Gov. Bill Richardson speaks with a reporter during the groundbreaking of the new 3,600 square-foot New Mexico Border Authority Headquarters, Apr. 8, 2008.

New Mexico governor says he nearly endorsed Hillary Clinton, but the ‘3 a.m.’ TV ad challenging Obama — plus repeated phone calls from Bill Clinton and other supporters — dismayed him. ‘I think the Clintons have a feeling of entitlement ... that the presidency was theirs,’ he says.

By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
12:15 PM PDT, April 11, 2008


SANTA FE, N.M. -- Before he endorsed Barack Obama, before he drew the wrath of the Clintons and was likened to Judas, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson nearly endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.

But Richardson hesitated, and as the Democratic campaign turned ugly, he grew angry.

There was that "3 a.m." TV ad, in which Clinton questioned Obama's personal mettle. "That upset me," Richardson said.

There were some ham-fisted phone calls from Clinton backers, who questioned Richardson's honor and suggested that the governor, who served in President Clinton's Cabinet, owed Hillary Clinton his support. "That really ticked me off," Richardson said.

Still, even as he moved from Clinton toward Obama -- "the pursuit was pretty relentless on both sides" -- Richardson wrestled with the question of loyalty. After 14 years in Congress and a measure of fame as an international troubleshooter, Richardson was named Clinton's U.N. ambassador, then Energy secretary. "Two important appointments," Richardson said.

He finally concluded that he had done his part and had settled his debt to the former president: He had worked for Clinton's election in 1992, helped pass the North American Free Trade Agreement as part of his administration, stood by him during the Monica S. Lewinsky sex scandal, and rounded up votes to fight impeachment.

"I was loyal," Richardson said during an extended conversation over breakfast this week at the governor's mansion in Santa Fe. "But I don't think that loyalty is transferable to his wife... You don't transfer loyalty to a dynasty."

more...

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-richardson12apr12,0,582014.story

[Cant trust em]

1. Lookin' good with the beard, Bill.

Keep on rockin'.

[goldcanyonaz]

3. He looks like a bum, seriously, you know the fashion police should have his off.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. Every OP, there you are with a disparaging comment.

Pretty ugly display.

[Cant trust em]

13. Interesting. If it were an Obama supporter mentioning something about Clinton's pant suits

it would have been totally sexist. Maybe you weren't the one making those idiotic claims, but they were there.

[PoliticalAmazon]

42. The whining faux misogyny outrage would have begun. Puke. n/t

[tammywammy]

15. Stay classy!

[City Lights]

16. The fashion police should have his off?

:crazy: Your post makes no sense. :crazy:

[goldcanyonaz]

17. Oh please, he looked like a bum.

[City Lights]

21. Sexist! Man-hater!

:rofl:

[Hugabear]

33. Why, just because he has a beard?

He looks rather well-groomed and well-dressed in that pic.

If we were making similar comments about Hillary, you'd be screaming about how sexist we are!

[roseBudd]

47. Could we please see a photo of you to see if you look like a bum?

[futureliveshere]

29. Oh come on.. It looks good on him.. Makes him look suave!!

[Hugabear]

34. I can imagine if one of us said Hillary looks like a hag

But it's perfectly acceptable to say that a perfectly groomed man looks like a bum.

Uh-huh.

[roseBudd]

46. Being so hateful must ruin your day

[City Lights]

12. I agree. He looks great with a beard!

Beautiful smile too.

[Cha]

40. Guv Richardson is totally handsome..inside

and out it happens. And, he has cosmically great timing by waiting just a wee bit longer before he was going to "endorse hilary".

[saracat]

2. I hope that people remember that Richardson's "loyalty"goes only so far.

Even richradson acknowledgeds he wouldn't have had a career except for clinton.If not for Clinton he wouldn't have been in a position to even be asked for an endorsement.It is really too bad Clinton campigned for him in NM. He should have said his loyalty "wasn't transfrable' to a state race!
I see richardson is still talking about this as it is the only way he gets coverage is to link himself with Clinton. Why doesn't he give this a rest already?

[Hugabear]

7. Would Hillary be where she is now if it weren't for her husband?

Seriously, would she?

I have no doubt that she could have gotten elected to Congress. She's very smart, and very ambitious. But would she be one of the front-runners for the presidency?

[rodeodance]

27. Its sexist comments like yours that turn many women off--and you wonder why she is getting

the women's vote.

and, i do not care if you are a woman (i do not know)

[Hugabear]

32. How is it sexist?

I acknowledged that she could easily have been elected to Congress on her own merits.

However, you CANNOT deny the fact that having the last name CLINTON and being the wife of a very popular two-term president has been a HUGE boost to her political career.

[cali]

11. oh, for pity's sake. "he wouldn't have had a career except for Clinton"?

Amazing. You speak about him as if he were some bum off the street, instead of A 7 TERM REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. And that's exactly what he was when Clinton appointed him Ambassador to the U.N.

your hate is pathetic.

[LittleClarkie]

36. He was just a stumbling bumbling crony riding their coat tails

Of course, if he had endorsed her, he would have been a paragon of professionalism and grace.

People don't change because of who they endorse. If he was a good man before, he is now.

I was thinking about him becoming my candidate until he fell so far in the race that he wasn't viable. He sure does have the resume.

I'm sick of people getting trashed according to who they've picked for president.

And I must say that Richardson's reasons rather mirror my own. It's the entitlement, the arrogance that gets me.

[gateley]

14. He was asked about it by the press at a State function.

I doubt he would have broached the subject himself.

[tekisui]

19. It seems obvious that the Clinton's weren't willing to return that loyalty

to Richardson, should she have become the Nominee.

[BuyingThyme]

24. You must hate women to think that she is but an extension of a husband.

It's really sad what being an admirer of Hillary can do to people.

[LittleClarkie]

37. We have that kind of "loyalty" now with Bush. I don't need cronyism.

I need people voting their conscience. Bill appears to have had his reasons.

[johnnydrama]

41. you're confused

The President from 1992-2000 was BILL Clinton.

The person running for President in 2008 is HILLARY Clinton.

They're 2 totally separate people.

[JI7]

49. Hillary was able to forgive her husband for cheating on her

i don't see why she can't get over someone who her husband hired endorsing someone other than her.

[Divernan]

52. And she forgave McCain for calling Chelsea the ugly bastard child of Janet Reno

John McCain’s crude Chelsea Clinton joke
By: John Amato on Saturday, February 9th, 2008 at 9:01 AM - PST John McCain made this odious joke about Chelsea Clinton back in ‘98.

Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”

– Sen. John McCain, speaking to a Republican dinner, June 1998.

Not only is McCain’s hideous attempt at humor about 10 times more tasteless than what Shuster said (as the David Corn article notes, newspapers that reported on the joke wouldn’t even print it), but while the newsman’s ill-conceived comment was at least spontaneous, McCain’s joke was a prepared remark to a public audience.

Maybe McCain has more in common with Limbaugh than Rush thinks. The straight talk express should be ashamed of himself.

[Bonobo]

4. The Clintons' massive sense of entitlement is perhaps their ugliest trait.

[blm]

5. I heard last fall that Kerry stayed away from events to avoid Bill, the pressure was so constant.

Maybe if Clintons had even ONCE been as relentless in showing opposition to Bush instead of consistely supporting and defending Bush for years, more Democrats would be in their corner now.

But Clintons have protected BushInc more than any other Dems of the last 40 years - and that includes Hamilton and Lieberman.

[Saturday]

6. This has already been posted. nt

[K Gardner]

8. I love this article. Good pic of the Governor !

[gateley]

10. This kind of sums up the difference:

"Their manner of courtship -- one wooing, the other arm-twisting -- seemed to reflect the candidates' different personalities and campaign styles"

[PatGund]

18. Sums it up

"Some callers -- who suggested Richardson had an obligation to back Clinton -- did more harm than good. "I think the Clintons have a feeling of entitlement . . . that the presidency was theirs," Richardson said, and the persistent lobbying from "Washington establishment types" convinced him of a need for some fresher faces inside the Beltway."

That sense of entitlement that the Clintons project is a major reason why I couldn't support her in the primaries, and why I feel she would be a horrible choice for President. (and why my support for her if she gets the nomination will be lackluster at best.)

Richardson would have been a better choice, but voters thought otherwise.

It's interesting that Richardson distingishes between his regard for the Clintons, which still seems to be high, and his regard for their campaign, which seems to be pretty low.

[WillyT]

20. Hey Sis !!! - You Have Great Taste In Articles, LOL !!! - K & R !!!

:bounce::hi::bounce:

:kick:

[Neshanic]

22. Why can't he have some class and just shut up about it?

[BuyingThyme]

25. Yes, why use words like JUDAS?

Oh, wait... I think we both got it completely wrong.

[tammywammy]

26. Because people keep asking him about it?

[Neshanic]

28. " I don't comment on that anymore" See? easy!

[tammywammy]

30. I dunno, I just don't see it as "not classy"

If Hillary hadn't run her campaign this way or treated Richardson like that, then he would have endorsed her and this whole point would be moot.

[tigervalentine]

31. One might say the same of Hillary's husband.

Seems BC brings things up, rather than just responds to reporters' questions.

[Lucky 13]

38. One could ask the same about you.

[PoliticalAmazon]

44. Did tigerv bang an intern with a cigar while his wife was in the vicinity? That's what...

WJC did, and worse.

That is not classy. That's having all the class of cats in heat.

[Lucky 13]

45. I wasn't talking to tigerv

I was talking to the guy tigerv was responding to. tigerv and I were agreeing.

now....tigerv? DID you bang an intern with a cigar while your wife was in the vicinity? Cause if not, this dude's spreading rumors about you.

Lighten up guys. :silly:

[tammywammy]

23. Recommended

:)

[jasmine621]

35. He thinks he has better chance of VP with Obama.

Please, Bill, don't act like you weren't pressured from the Obama camp.

[tammywammy]

43. He says both camps pursued him, but it was different tactics.

"Still, even as he moved from Clinton toward Obama -- "the pursuit was pretty relentless on both sides" -- Richardson wrestled with the question of loyalty. After 14 years in Congress and a measure of fame as an international troubleshooter, Richardson was named Clinton's U.N. ambassador, then Energy secretary. "Two important appointments," Richardson said."

-snip-

"Obama preferred the soft sell, calling Richardson every three days or so -- "dialing the phone himself, no operator" -- for long discussions about policy and campaign issues. The two developed a bantering relationship, building on the camaraderie they shared off-camera during debates, when they would roll their eyes at some of their rivals' sillier statements.

Clinton was more persistent and tactical. There were eight or more phone calls a day, Richardson said: "Bill calling. Hillary calling, friends of mine that were in the Clinton administration, Clinton operatives, Clinton Hispanic operatives, New Mexico Clinton Hispanic operatives.""

[Cha]

39. Yeah, how'd you like those

two thinking they had the right to breathe down your neck?

[blonndee]

48. From all accounts I've read, Bill's a pretty easygoing guy

and if they "ticked him off," and if he's willing to say so publicly, I can only imagine how bad it really was. It's not like he didn't drop diplomatic hints about such tactics well before his endorsement. But it seems like the Clintons don't "get" diplomacy and tact. Tone-deaf to the end.

[bklyncowgirl]

51. He did say in some interviews that he was not happy with some Clinton supporters

He put that out pretty early and it seems the Clintons and their supporters just kept on harrassing the guy.

Obama on the other hand showed respect by calling him personally and discussing issues in depth with him.

The Clintons treated him like a low level employee. Obama treated him as an equal.

In the end who are you going to side with.

[cboy4]

50. He sure feels guilty about being a backstabber.

It's all he talks about.

I wonder if he ever sleeps?

Poor guy.