On some Democratic-leaning weblogs, I see lots of mention that Bill Richardson of NM should be the vice-presidential candidate for Kerry. Now, my dislike for Richardson is well known, but I figured that I'd put it online for the world to read.
Some reasons why people think Bill Richardson should be vice president and why they are wrong.
1. Bill Richardson is a Hispanic and would attract Hispanic voters: I've been in the same room as Richardson during my high school years (he was my district's Congressman before he started his globe trotting adventures on behalf of the Clinton administration) and during my time as a Dept. of Energy employee at Los Alamos. From my first-hand experience with the man, there is nothing Latino about him. I know Hispanics, and Richardson never came off as a Hispanic to me. Personally, I was surprised when people started talking about him as a Hispanic. He always seemed to be the typical pudgy white guy to me. So what that he speaks Spanish?
2. Bill Richardson has diplomatic experience, and knows a lot about the conflicts we face: It's true that Richardson was an ambassador to the UN and was also the pretty prominent ambassador to North Korea in the 1990's where he convinced them to give up their nuclear program. In hindsight, it looks like he did a pretty good job. Except that NK kept developing their nukes. Good job, Bill.
3. Bill Richardson has cabinet-level experience: Richardson was Secretary of Energy when the Wen Ho Lee crisis broke out. Given DOE's handling of the situation under Richardson's watch (a racially-motivated trial of Wen Ho Lee and later acquittal), I doubt that he's suitable for any position of authority.
4. Richardson is a man of integrity: Now, I can't speak directly for Richardson and his integrity. From my personal experiences, he always came off as the double-talking slimy politician who was simply looking for a way to climb the political ladder. While this does not measure the man's integrity, the few times I've been in his presence, I've never been able to feel that I was in the presence of a guy who was trying to do anything other than grab more power. Richardson never gave me that feeling that he was looking out for me as an employee or constituent, but was looking out for himself.
I'll close with the caveat that many of these observations are based off my experiences with the man as a constituent, employee, and general observer. Richardson may be the thing that great vice presidents are made of, but I've never seen anything to support this idea. I think that Gore was right to pass him over in 2000, and Kerry would be smart to do the same in 2004.
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Thx for posting your reservations about Richardson. After his reprehensible treatment of Dr. Wen Ho Lee -- after his overseeing Dr. Lee nearly visiting the death chamber! -- I can't believe Democrats are giving Richardson serious consideration. Does anyone remember this self-identified Latino man single out the civil rights organizations defending Lee and accuse them of pulling the race card? Are the votes of Asian Americans (not to mention their potential for heavy donations) that expendable to the DNC? Astounding! What for what my membership in SF Bay Area and Chicago Asian American community-based organizations may be worth, I think it's time to start calling around and encouraging folks to start making noise.
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