I love it...not yet inaugerated and already a 'second' investigation related to the Obama presidency.

One can only hope our president-elect remains 'above the fray'.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090104/ap_on_el_pr/richardson

Let's also hope Obama is not associated with the apparent 'forced' appointment of the uttery unexperienced and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg to fill Hillary's NY senate seat.

Although...the potential upside is this can easily be thrown in the face of any Democrat to referred to Gov. Palin as 'inexperienced'.

**********************************************************

WASHINGTON – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.

Richardson's withdrawal was the 1st disruption of Obama's Cabinet process and the second "pay-to-play" investigation that has touched Obama's transition to the presidency. The president-elect has remained above the fray in both the case of arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the New Mexico case.

A federal grand jury is investigating how a CA company that contributed to Richardson's political activities won a New Mexico transportation contract worth more than $1m. Richardson said in a stmt issued by the Obama office that the investigation could take weeks or months but expressed confidence it will show he and his administration acted properly.

"I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process," Richardson said. "Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the president-elect and his administration to delay...the important work that needs to be done."

Richardson said he will remain as governor and told Obama, "I am eager to serve in the future in any way he deems useful."

The announcement came ahead of Obama's Monday meetings with congressional leaders on a massive economic recovery bill he wants lawmakers to pass quickly.

Obama said he has accepted Richardson's withdrawal, first reported by NBC News, "with deep regret."

"Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office," Obama said. "It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time. Although we must move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson's decision, I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration."

A person familiar with the proceedings has told The AP that the grand jury is looking into possible "pay-to-play" dealings between CDR Financial Products and someone in a position to push the contract through with the state of New Mexico.

State documents show CDR was paid a total of $1.48 million in 2004 & 2005 for its work on a transportation program.

Richardson ran against Obama in the Dem presidential primary, but withdrew after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

He is one of the most prominent Hispanics in the Dem Party, having served in Congress and as President Clinton's ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary. As gov, he's kept up an international profile with a specialty in dealing with rouge nations. Obama also considered him to be secretary of state.

CDR and its CEO, David Rubin, have contributed at least $110,000 to three political committees formed by Richardson, according to an AP review of campaign finance records.

The largest donation, $75,000, was made by CDR in June 2004 — a couple of months after the transportation financing arrangement won state approval — to a political committee that Richardson established before the Democratic National Convention that year.

In the Illinois case, Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell the Senate seat that Obama gave up to become president. Obama and two of his top aides have been interviewed by the U.S. attorney's office pursuing the case but have denied any knowledge of such a scheme and have not been accused by prosecutors of any wrongdoing.

Yeah, all Democrats are corrupt and all Republicans are angels. How silly of us to elect a Democratic president.

Nothing but drunks, philanderers, and big hairdoed douchebags.

Apple, I truly hope that you are able to find some happiness in 2009. Judging by the fact that you only make a rare appearance, and that is virtually always a bitter one, I hope that in the new year you are able to find some way to lighten that awful load that you must be so weary of carrying.

Hey Apple.

I'm "utterly inexperienced" too. I've been around cows, but I've never indulged.

Shouldn't that be "udderly" inexperienced?

Stop trying to milk this for laughs.

I'm going to remain consistant here.

As I have indicated over the years when stories came out for the world to see about President Bush and some of the embarrassing and ridiculous accusations that were made, I will re-iterate once again.....It's disgusting how the press in this country TRIES to air the dirty laundry that they SUSPECT our Commander In Chief of POSSIBLY being involved in! Be it George W. Bush or Barack Obama! These men are our current and our future leaders respectively and at a time when there are scumbags out in this world looking to hurt our country, it's existance and it's image, our press should be ashamed of themselves for posting stories that do no more than IMPLY that our Commander In Chief and / or our future Commander In Chief, is involved in some sort of a scandal.

What was done to President Bush during this war, by some of the press and some from the far left, was a form of aiding and abetting our enemies! And what's being done to President Elect Barak Obama by our press and by the far right, during a time of war and also a critical time domestically, is once again aiding and abetting our enemies!

Just more fodder being supplied, by our own press and some of our own people, for the enemy to use against us in the propaganda part of war.

It disgusts me.

Good point DC. In fact, I plan to write my local newspaper and tell them to print good news about the President until such time as all of our wars are won, all international conflicts are resolved, the DOW is back above 14,000, and unemployment is no more than 3%. And while I'm at it, I'll also tell them to stop printing material about Britney Spears and her ilk because it simply reinforces the perceptions about America as a decadent society.

I agree that it would be nice if MaryCas showed up with some sort of positive news.

But it's not like everyone was polite and respectful to Bush and Republicans the past several years. This is politics. I don't like it, but that's the way it is.

Any way you cut it, being far left wing or far right wing and being unable to see both sides of a coin is just willful ignorance.

True, but I know you are a sports fan so I'm going to make this comparison. It's very easy to see both sides when you don't care either way. Once you put your heart and soul into a party, or candidate, sports team etc... then attacks on your pick draw counterattacks. Just like when someone pokes fun at your Colts, you can't help but to defend them right? That's politics, but on a much deeper level. The more people poke, jab, rip, whatever at you and your beliefs the more you want to do the same back.

I'm not defending Apples' political beliefs or negative approach because I agree with him. In fact I don't approve of his negative attacks. I just don't want people to criticize him for being negative when they have done the very same thing recently.

Hypocrisy is rampant.

Are you talking about Apple when you say MaryCas?

This looks to me like a Bill Richardson/New Mexico (and likewise, a Rod Blagojevich/Illinois) issue moreso than a President-elect Obama issue.

Let's continue making sweeping statments like that, though.

Woops, my bad. Sorry MaryCas!

So you're not gonna edit your post to protect the guilty (you)?

Quite frankly, I don't see how this reflects on the President-Elect either. It looks like something that came up during the normal vetting process and that, to avoid anything further coming up, Richardson's name was withdrawn. The sad part is, he may have been rather good at what he was supposed to do.

Well let me throw another one back at you. Did you expect the Raiders to win the super bowl this season? You're a Raiders fan but that doesn't distort your perspective so much that you can't see how your team is performing.

Apple, do try to post more than these guerilla postings.

Anyway, the Illinois and Richardson situations are just clusterfucks that strip a peg or two from the President-Elect, regardless if he was directly or indirectly involved with those crimes. Remember that term "Guilt by Association" during the campaign? Here you go.

And yet, the American people still like Obama or at least is willing to give him wiggle room that he's a bystander of all this.

I'm strangely reminded of Ronald Reagan, who had some illegal-sounding mishaps under his administration from Iran-Contra and so on, but still was pretty popular during his Presidency for the most part.

So remember folks, a good smile goes a long way.

Shhh.

Obama's winning the election has had one great benefit already: we're not subject to these "guerilla postings".

Makes the title of this thread all more enjoyable.

Ditto.

I am in no way saying that our President or President elect are innocent of any wrong doings, screw ups, or that they have not made some poor decisions in their respective political careers. The point that I was trying to make is that the press, and those from either the far left or the far right automatically try to tie our Presidents into every type of scandal that arises with someone that they may have had a dinner with or someone that they may have served on a committee with, for 2 weeks, over 20 years ago. The point that I am trying to make is that the press and the far rightists and leftists have no decency and will do whatever they can, even if it means weaving someone into a scandal that they really don't deserved to be woven into, just to get a story sold or make a memeber of the opposite political party look bad.

But once again, by the reply that you made to my original post, you've proven that your reading comprehension is slipping and your sarcasm has caused you to totally miss the point I was trying to make.

I think that you should start drinking more wine these days.

For anyone following this thread, and not in the know...
MaryCas is a man.
Apple is a woman.

Something positive to follow tonight. Back to slave labor camp.

So many possibilities with answers to this.

Nah, I'll behave.

Why start now?

New Year.

Amen, Brother. In early December I predicted the press would start taking Obama down soon because that's what they do. They build people up so they can tear them down. It is great for ratings and it makes them money. Agree or disagree with Clinton, Bush, Obama, you are 100 % correct. None of them took office with the idea they were going to drive the country into a ditch, or do anything but serve to better the country. You can criticize their policies and disagree all you want, but the personal attacks the media make are disgusting. It is no wonder people are not buying newspapers and are turning off their televisions.

As Babu on Seinfeld would say (while wagging his finger),

You're a bad man SC, a very bad man!

Theres only two things I want from Nobama - to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

And thats not going to happen..

So I'm gonna have to spend the rest of my life seeing news reports that soldiers are getting blown apart, and the millions poured into this wasted venture comes out of our pockets.