Posted on 05/21/2007 6:19:16 PM PDT by Mike Bates
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson today officially announced he's running for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
His campaign's Website stresses Richardson's diplomatic skills: "Presidents, Secretaries of State, and Prime Ministers soon came to know Bill as the go-to guy for tough hostage negotiations."
The governor's being modest; at least one president came to know Richardson as the go-to guy when he needed to find Monica Lewinski a job. Richardson was at the time the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Ms. Lewinsky expected President Clinton's assistance in finding a new career. You know, something to keep her busy enough so she wouldn't have time to chat about her Oval Office Lothario. Bill Richardson was designated the go-to guy. As reported by the Washington Post in 1998:
"Under questioning by Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska), Richardson said deputy White House chief of staff John D. Podesta, a friend, called him and asked if he'd interview Lewinsky, then at the Pentagon press office. 'He said this was a friend of Betty Currie. . . . He asked me as a favor to Betty to interview her,' said Richardson, adding that Podesta 'did not even know what her name was when he asked me to interview her.'"
"Richardson said he and two aides met with Lewinsky last October in a Watergate Hotel suite he often used in Washington. 'She was impressive,' said Richardson. 'I remember my chief of staff being impressed with Ms. Lewinsky's gregariousness, her ability to express herself. She came very well-prepared,' he told the committee."
"Murkowski said he found it 'curious' that Richardson would be interviewing applicants for a $30,000-a-year political outreach job. But Richardson said it was 'a very normal procedure' for him to sit in on interviews."
It's little wonder Ms. Lewinsky was well-prepared for the interview; Clinton personally helped prep her for it using his favorite technology, the telephone.
With all the responsibilities he carried as a U.S. Ambassador, Bill Richardson still found the time to interview a deserving young person for an entry-level position. That's what I call diplomatic. Not only that, he offered her the job. Talk about being the go-to guy.
Bill Richardson, anchor baby.
Well, at least he’s no longer fibbing about being drafted by the Kansas City A’s.
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