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   Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gnter Grass still thinks reunification was a bad idea.
 Forty years of writing from Taylor Branch, James Fallows, Katherine Boo, Marjorie Williams, Joshua Micah Marshall, and more.
 With help from Washington, the for-profit college industry is loading up millions of low-income students with debt they'll never pay off.
 The best recent memoir from republican Washington is a hoax. That should tell you something.
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January 4, 2009
REPORT: BILL RICHARDSON TO WITHDRAW.... The lead headline on MSNBC right now reads, "Bill Richardson will withdraw as Commerce secretary, NBC News has learned." At this point, I haven't seen or heard confirmation of this anywhere else, but that's the report as of right now. If the reporting is accurate, one can probably guess what's prompted Richardson's decision. We learned last week that Richardson is being investigated by a federal grand jury in New Mexico as part of a "pay to play" controversy, stemming from revelations about state bond business from the New Mexico Financial Authority going to David Rubin, a significant Richardson campaign contributor. Even after the news broke, it was a setback for Obama transition team vetters, but few expected it to be a big deal for Richardson. And, who knows, maybe Richardson is withdrawing for some other reason. I'm guessing it has something to do with the "pay to play" questions, but it may be unrelated. I guess we'll find out soon. At this point, though, I suspect Obama is awfully glad he didn't ask Richardson to be Secretary of State. Update: It's official, Richardson is out and it's due to the "unanswered questions" surrounding the federal grand jury investigation in New Mexico. Richardson said in a statement, "Let me say unequivocally that I and my administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact. But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process." The transition office also issued a statement, explaining that Obama accept's Richardson's decision "with deep regret." —Steve Benen 1:20 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (14)Comments
....and now reduced to one Latino. I mean Richardson only kind of counted but oh well. Wait, maybe this means he will grow a beard again? Posted by: MNPundit on January 4, 2009 at 1:30 PM | PERMALINKhe must have some sense as to the seriousness of the charges against him and how long it will take to extricate himself from them ... if he can ... it wasn't long ago that another federal grand jury wound up putting away a big NM pol, Manny Aragon, who now is wearing a prison jumpsuit ... Posted by: sjw on January 4, 2009 at 1:48 PM | PERMALINKI would guess it is more likely that when reporters really started digging in, solid evidence of a zipper problem started bubbling up. Cranky Posted by: Cranky Observer on January 4, 2009 at 1:56 PM | PERMALINKThe Norman Hsu bomb drops Jan. 12. (Pronounced Shoe). That's when his trial begins for fundraising fraud and racketeering. Hillary Clinton may be forced to testify. Sources indicate Hsu is singing like a canary on his relationship with Clinton, and even on the $14,000 he raised for Obama. Richardson is just the first "Hsu" to drop. Posted by: Eric Dondero on January 4, 2009 at 2:16 PM | PERMALINKNew Mexico Like Blagojewich and William Jefferson if Richardson is dirty he should be prosecuted, convicted and punished. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty but, I appreciate that he is voluntarily stepping down. I have two questions. Isn't that the state where the Abu Gonzales justice department fired the AG for not being a sufficiently loyal Bushie and refusing to engage in politcally motivated investigations and prosecutions? When will there be an investigation into the no-bid contracts and procurement irregularites that occured during the Bush/Cheney adminstration? Posted by: Winkandanod on January 4, 2009 at 2:38 PM | PERMALINKI hope this isn't what Obama mean by 'change". I heard for quite some time now that Bill Richardson was being investigated. We'll see what happens. Posted by: Real Hot Newz on January 4, 2009 at 2:56 PM | PERMALINKWhat if Obama had picked Richardson for Veep? Not as embarrassing as Edwards, but still not good. I wish these people with issues in the oven would say something early on to their considerers so the latter could just pass over them early. Posted by: Neil B ☺ on January 4, 2009 at 3:22 PM | PERMALINKto answer Windandanod's first question, yes, the Federal Prosecutor was the straight-arrow David Yglesias. And the person whom he was going after--though not quickly enough for the Repugs--was the corrupt Democrat Manny Aragon, mentioned in my post above. Posted by: sjw on January 4, 2009 at 3:23 PM | PERMALINKLet's face it, the FBI is now operating as a shadow GOP. Posted by: grinning cat on January 4, 2009 at 4:06 PM | PERMALINKTwo questions. CrankyObserver@1.56p - the scuttlebutt out here is that Richardson DOES have a "zipper problem", but the truth is actually much harder to pin down. Santa Fe's not a large place and everybody seems to "know" of a problem, but when you ask about the specifics, it just sort "blows away". My manicurist was Richardson's before he was governor and she says the "zipper" stories are NOT true; he's just "really friendly". She seems to be the only one who will say he DOESN'T have a "problem"; other people talk vaguely about a "problem", without giving specifics. I think the truth is somewhat murky and might never be known. Posted by: phoebes in santa fe on January 4, 2009 at 5:11 PM | PERMALINKHow did Richardson get through past the vetting team I suspect he convinced them that he had assurances the investigation was nearly over, and that there was no reason to charge him. Giving Richardson the benefit of the doubt, he may have merely learned that the prosecutor has decided not to close the investigation down yet. Obama does not want a candidate who is even "under investigation", regardless of whether there is any merit or not. Posted by: Danp on January 4, 2009 at 5:16 PM | PERMALINKFor the time being I will give Richardson for bowing out gracefully, rather than risking embarassing the incoming administration. If it later proves that he has real skeletons -not just overzealous enemies I might have to modify that opinion. But, in any case he has a lot mor class than Blagowitz. As for the presidental run, I don't think anyone ever thought he had a snowballs chance in the netherworld of being the nominee. So a much lower level of vetting than for the "serious" candidates would only represent a reasonable allocation of resources. Posted by: bigTom on January 4, 2009 at 7:07 PM | PERMALINKSo, there'll be no mention of the Wen Ho Lee incident now that there'll be no confirmation hearing... That's a bit of a shame. Posted by: ArC on January 5, 2009 at 1:20 AM | PERMALINK
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