Richardson says he was vetted for VP and under consideration

[Ichingcarpenter]

He just said that on Tweety's show

[annabanana]

1. He was. This isn't a surprise. . . . n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. I think some didn't know how close he came to getting the job

Looks like he will be in the administration.

[XemaSab]

41. He might be better as governor of NM than

secretary of pens and pencils, or whatever. :P

[Motown_Johnny]

2. He was always my first choice.. But I am very happy with Joe

[Mme. Defarge]

4. Same here -- n/t

[moriah]

11. He was my first choice, Clark was my second.

But while I do have a few reservations about Senator (soon to be Vice President) Biden, they are small concerns that I hope he will be able to turn into positives. I agree with his positions for the most part. (If you're really wondering what the reservations are, they have to do with his connections to large Delaware bankers and his somewhat reactionary response to drug use in youth counterculture that, in my opinion, contributed to unsafe conditions at raves and other techno music parties.)

[DevonRex]

5. He deserved to be considered and I glad he was. I could have

gotten behind him easily. But I'm really excited about Biden.

[Ichingcarpenter]

15. I would have been behind him too although

Biden is better as bulldog, Richardson is more of a diplomat.
Damn what a great selection we had compared to the republicans.

[wmbrew0206]

6. According to Bob Schrum, take Richardson with a grain of salt on VP vetting

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1626498-2,00.html

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Bob Schrum is not even close to this Democratic party

he's a fucking loser.

[wmbrew0206]

20. Well, he is enough of a democrat to work for Edwards and sit on Kerry's VP vetting committee.

[Ichingcarpenter]

23. That worked out well didn't it?

[wmbrew0206]

25. So you are saying the loss in '04 is Bob Schrum's fault?

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

36. Here's what I'm saying

Bob Schrum needs to stay the HELL away from this campaign. Along with all the other failed "take a dive" consultants.

[WinkyDink]

38. Schrum is 0-for-8, okay?

He leaves Washington with a mixed record, having served as an adviser on 26 winning Senate campaigns, perhaps more than any other consultant, but also eight losing presidential campaigns, which may also stand as a record.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/1/13/151831/741

[wmbrew0206]

48. The point I was trying to make was that Richardson said the same thing in '04

I realize re-reading my posts that I come off as trying to defend Shrum, which has not my intention.

I think Richardson could make it through the vetting process, but this was just not the right year for him to be the VP.

We all know that there is a very big racial factor in this election and Obama probably had to make the call on whether two minorities on the same ticket could win or to pick a VP that was safer and could shore up support in the rust belt, like Biden can.

I thought Schrum's insight was relevent, but did not know how distrusted he was by DU.

[WeDidIt]

14. Richardson is a helluva lot closer to Obama than Schrum

Take anything Schrum says with a grain of salt, he's about eighteen circles outside the inner circle now.

[Ichingcarpenter]

47. Shrum is a liar- Obama's campaign just reported the vetting process

Richardson was in Contention and vetted. So much to listening to
his worthless opinion.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6725389

[Czolgosz]

7. I wish Obama had picked Richardson

[darius15]

8. He would have been a great VP

but I'm happy with Biden, he was my second choice after Clark

[Czolgosz]

13. Foreign affairs cred, plus executive experience, plus Western state appeal, plus Spanish speaking

appeal, plus ... the advantages we passed up are too numerous to list.

[WeDidIt]

18. They haven't been passed up

I'm betting we know who the Secretary of State will be because he revelaed NOTHING until after Biden was announced.

[democrattotheend]

28. I think he might have zipper problems though

I know he pulled out of the vetting process in 2004, and he is rumored to have zipper problems.

[MiniMe]

32. The only thing about Richardson is that he is a terrible campaigner

He ran a horrible campaign in the primaries, and was not impressive in the debates. I agree that he has the credentials, but Obama needs an attack dog, and he definitely got that in Obama. He definitely should be in the administration.

[Stop Cornyn]

34. He beat the living shit out of Biden during the primaries.

[MiniMe]

37. Huh?

Did you watch the same debates I did? Like I said, I think that Richardson has the credentials, but I don't think he can counterpunch as well as Biden can. Obama needs the attack dog, and that just isn't Richardson.

[Stop Cornyn]

50. Richardson got TONS more votes (and funds) than Biden's vanity campaign

[XemaSab]

44. Obama's his own VP?

:shrug:

:P

[MiniMe]

46. Oops, typo

Too late to fix.

[XemaSab]

43. Richardson was one of my top picks

but my suspicion is that the "vetting" wasn't very kind to him.

[Olney Blue]

9. He sounded kind of disappointed that he didn't get it.

[snowbear]

19. Yeah, he did... but...

...he sounds like he'll be happy to be involved in the administration in any position he's asked to serve in.

I love Bill Richardson.. but in many respects, the selection of Biden makes a lot of sense.

Still.. I would have been happy with either of them. ~~

[WeDidIt]

24. HE'll be Secretary of State

Count on it. He passed a major test that both Bayh and Kaine failed, no leaks about the vetting or the answer.

[Ichingcarpenter]

27. Yep and even those people have to be vetted. He's got a place on the cabinet

Energy or State.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

22. Well, he went against his former friends to get VP, so I'm sure he is.

I feel bad for him. I know it was heartbreaking.

[WeDidIt]

12. Notice nobody knew the specifics

nor did anybody know when he was told he wouldn't be the veep.

We have met our Secretary of State and his name is Bill Richardson. I hope he keeps the beard.

[southerncrone]

16. Bill would be a great VP, but Biden will be, too. Hope O

will pick Richardson as Sec. of State. He'd be awesome for this administration. What a talented negotiator he is,

[jesus_of_suburbia]

17. I feel sorry for him. I know he wanted VP REALLY badly.

It's so sad.

[Frances]

21. In my opinion,

Richardson will fit in a diplomatic post best. Richardson cannot communicate with the American public as well as Biden, and it's obvious we need a vp candidate who can stand up to the Repubs in a way the ordinary American can understand. Repubs are bullies and it takes a special kind of person to put them in their place.

[TTUBatfan2008]

26. Bill is a good man that brings electoral advantages to the table...

but we needed a good man AND an attack dog in the same package. That's what Biden provides. Biden also has some electoral advantages that Bill would automatically lose for us: the midwest. Two minorities on the ticket would have a tough time convincing those blue collar voters. So the gains in the west and with hispanics would probably be wiped out by losses in the midwest and with blue collar whites. Mainly though, I'm glad to have an attack dog. He is going to kick a ton of ass during this campaign, while allowing Barack to run a cleaner campaign himself. Meanwhile, McNopoly will be the grumpy old guy constantly attacking his opponent.

[liberaldem4ever]

29. Richardson was my favorite VP choice

But I like Joe Biden too. He was my second favorite. And I understand the strengths that Biden has. I knew that Obama would pick the person who he felt brought the most strength to the ticket. He is one smart guy.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

31. Biden is MUCH better than Richardson. Obama did well in his pick.

[liberaldem4ever]

52. I agree with you Obama did a great job

Biden is the best choice for VP, although I hope Obama finds a position in his administration for Richardson too.

[crimsonblue]

30. Richardson for SecState

that'd be the smart move, IMO.

[seasat]

33. I was a Richardson supporter during the primary but I prefer Biden for VP

Richardson would have been a good VP because of his knowledge, record, and governing skills but we need an attack dog VP. McCain is going full bore Rove on us and Biden is the best surrogate to push back against them. We needed an aggressive VP candidate that can attack McCain without tarnishing Obama's brand. Biden is much better in that respect. Richardson tends to be much more subdued even when on the attack. Biden also has appeal to older male voters and we need more support among them in the battleground states. While Richardson would have good appeal among Hispanics and Westerners, Obama is already doing good with those groups. Richardson will be a great Secretary of State and Biden will be a great VP.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

35. Richardson was my preferred choice

Most obvious reason is that a governor on the ticket probably would have been better than two senators. History seems to bear that out, and unfortunately Gramps is looking at a lot of governors.

I'm guessing the "attack dog" thing is what knocked Bill out of the ring. No question that Biden is better in that capacity

[scarletwoman]

39. I like Richardson a lot, and he was my favorite for VP for awhile. But I couldn't help but notice

that he's not very quick on his feet in interview situations. When he was on one of the Sunday morning pundit shows recently (last week?) being questioned about Obama's response to the Russia/Georgia thing, he got a bit rattled and sort of blew it, imho. He started out strong, but ended up sounding a bit weak.

I'd also seen him in a couple other interviews prior to that and he just didn't come off very strongly. I think his heart and brain are really in the right place, but he's just not naturally aggressive.

I think he's a very intelligent and thoughtful man who is good at considering things from many different angles -- it's just not the most ideal characteristic for fighting against the right wing slime machine. You don't want a chess player when the situation calls for a boxer.

I know he would have done his best and put his whole heart into helping the ticket, but I'm not sure he'd have been scrappy enough. So, I'm truly glad that it ended up being Biden, who definitely knows how to use choice words that leave a mark.

I do hope Obama gives Richardson a choice Cabinet post, he certainly deserves it.

sw

[Barack_America]

40. Richardson never stood a chance.

And he can blame that on bitter Hillary supporters.

Don't forget, he's known as "Judas" to them.

[tigereye]

42. yeah, I think he would have made a great VP candidate

I can understand why Biden was picked (he has stellar foreign policy cred and experience), but I admit I really wanted to see someone from the South, West or Southwest.

[Top Cat]

45. I like Richardson but American is not ready for that much change.

African American and a Hispanic would not get the votes needed to win. Sad but true

[jillan]

49. I'm predicting that Richardson will play an important role in Obama's administration.

He's too talented not to.

I think Biden is probably a better attack dog than Richardson and that's why Biden got picked.

[eleny]

51. Then he's in the Cabinet for sure

At least I sure hope this is true.