Bill Richardson is nothing if not shrewd.
The governor has built one of the most impressive résumés of any politician in the nation because of his ability to sense an opportunity and capitalize on it.
He rescued hostages because he was willing to take risk. He catapulted himself back onto the national stage after scandal at the Department of Energy during his tenure as cabinet secretary by returning to a state where he knew how to work the system and become one of the most powerful governors in New Mexico history.
Last month, he perceived the perfect time to endorse one of his former opponents in the presidential race.
It didn’t appear that way at first. Richardson waited to endorse Barack Obama until after New Mexico and most other states with a significant Hispanic population had voted in the Democratic presidential primary. He did it at the start of Easter weekend, when fewer people were paying attention to political news.
It could have – and should have – been a one-day story: Richardson appearing with Obama in Oregon to call him a once-in-a-lifetime candidate. Then the governor of a small state could return home to finish out his term and ride his horse into the sunset.
But that’s not what Richardson wanted, and it’s not what he got. The reaction of the Clinton campaign has kept Richardson’s endorsement in the news for more than two weeks and catapulted the governor back onto the national stage. Several events coincided with Richardson’s endorsement to create the firestorm that has ensued.
• His endorsement came immediately after it became clear that there would be no revote in Michigan or Florida. Such votes would have propelled Hillary Clinton back into the race with Obama and perhaps even made her the frontrunner, so when proposals to hold new contests in those states fell apart, an Obama victory became much more likely.
• The endorsement came as Obama was in the midst of the biggest controversy of his campaign over his relationship with his former pastor, whose inflammatory words have become a hot topic around America.
• And the fact that it came at Easter is noteworthy because Richardson’s endorsement of Obama was, in a way, hypocritical, and it was a betrayal in our patrón system of government. He had previously told the New York Times that superdelegates should support the choice of their constituents. New Mexico went, albeit narrowly, to Clinton. And Richardson is who he is because Bill Clinton appointed him to two top positions in his administration.
A furious reaction
A desperate Clinton camp that knew the impact of no Florida and Michigan revote was furious, and it lashed out. James Carville compared Richardson’s endorsement to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. A red-faced Bill Clinton claimed Richardson lied to him, telling him five times he would not endorse Obama.
Meanwhile, Richardson appeared on television repeatedly to respond in a calm manner. He talked about unity and making America strong again. He said he never promised anything to the Clintons. He authored a Washington Post op-ed claiming that he was taking the high road by refusing to stoop to the level of personal attacks being employed by the Clinton campaign against him.
The controversy over his endorsement quickly drowned out the controversy over Obama’s relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In the era of a 24-hour news cycle obsessed with controversy, the governor took the weight off Obama’s shoulders and carried it himself.
That’s a great way to score points with the likely Democratic presidential nominee, especially when you want a job in his administration.
Did Richardson know this would happen?
Did Richardson intend for things to happen this way? He wrote in his Post op-ed that the attacks led by Carville are the “kind of political venom that I anticipated from certain Clinton supporters and I campaigned against in my own run for president.”
I don’t know whether he intended for this spat to drag on for more than two weeks, but he certainly knew there would be a spat, and probably knew it would help take the focus off Obama’s relationship with his pastor.
Richardson has an uncanny ability to sense a political opportunity and seize it. In this instance, he took a burden off the man who appears likely to be the Democratic presidential nominee at a critical time. The reaction has made the Clinton campaign appear immature and part of the old guard of the Democratic Party that values loyalty above doing what’s right – the sort of politics Obama decries and Americans loathe.
In New Mexico, we know Richardson as someone who values loyalty above all else and regularly uses capital outlay vetoes as a weapon against those who cross him. We know him as someone with a temper not unlike that of Bill Clinton. But on a national level, we’re watching Richardson craft a new image of himself. That doesn’t mean he’s changed. He was the same vengeful governor during this year’s legislative session.
But Richardson sensed the political reality in America. Voters are tired of partisanship and personal attacks. They want change. Democrats are probably going to give Obama the right to take on John McCain in November. The always job-hunting Richardson wants to be a part of that.
He waited for the right moment – when it became clear that Obama was the likely winner and when Obama needed him most – and seized the opportunity to help himself by helping the presidential hopeful. It was characteristically self-serving. It was also brilliant.
Bill Richardson is nothing if not shrewd.