Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as one of the two most-mentioned candidates for secretary of state, but the other is Hillary Clinton, and she may have already been offered the job.
As was first reported Friday by the Washington Post, Richardson met with Barack Obama on Friday in Chicago about a potential role in the president-elect’s administration. Obama met with Clinton Thursday, and the Post reported that sources say she is a “top contender” for the job. The Huffington Post went so far as to report that Obama offered Clinton the job.
A Richardson spokesman declined to comment Friday on the meeting. The Washington Post reported that Obama’s short list for secretary of state also includes John Kerry.
The news that Richardson and Clinton might be up for the same job prompted an Albuquerque Journal article about their past relationship. The article recounts how Richardson “went out on a political limb” earlier this year in endorsing Obama over Clinton, looking “past his ties with former President Bill Clinton — who had made him ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary — (and taking) a chance on his own political future.” The move paid off because Obama won, but it also angered many Clinton loyalists, including James Carville, who compared Richardson’s endorsement of Obama to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
Richardson and Clinton reportedly buried the hatchet earlier this year when he held fundraisers to help her retire her campaign debt, but the governor has said the rift with Bill Clinton created by his endorsement may be permanent.