And here I’ve been thinking nobody was worried about Bill Richardson as a serious contender in 2008. Obviously, I was wrong; otherwise, how else to explain the smeary whisper campaign?
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s 2008 presidential campaign has been burdened by unusually public discussion about his behavior with women.
The lieutenant governor of New Mexico, Diane Denish was quoted in the Albuquerque Journal saying she avoids standing or sitting near Richardson because of his physical manner, which she said was not improper but was “annoying.” The governor, she said, “pinches my neck. He touches my hip, my thigh, sort of the side of my leg.”
Denish’s quote comes from this 2005 article (which requires sitting through a commercial for “free” access), which was followed almost immediately by this one, in which she states:
Asked for examples of quotes being used out of context, Cervini said when Denish described Richardson’s behavior as “annoying,” her full description was “annoying like a little brother or a classmate.”
And that’s exactly what Richardson’s “touchiness” resembles more than anything else. Furthermore, both articles make clear that Richardson’s smaller-than-ordinary personal bubble interactions are not limited to women, Politico’s insinuations notwithstanding.
Juvenile antics? Yes. Major problem? No… unless you’re thinking he’s actually in the running for the lead role in the White House.
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Some other views:
Allah at Hot Air says (with a bonus opinion link):
Ace has more about Richardson’s little brotherish behavior towards Denish and provides our exit question: if Mickey Kaus knows something about Richardson doing this to women, why doesn’t he or someone else report it? Why the parade of hints?
Justin Gardner at Donklephant is not amused.
And just to round this out — Reason reminds everyone that there are, in fact, reasons people should be worried about Bill Richardson. If he ever decides to ramp his campaign up (hello?), he’ll be a serious contender indeed.
IMO Richardson is the only reasonable Dem in the race. Hillary is unacceptable and actually unelectable, to many negatives. Obama, don’t make me laugh, When Hillary is done with him he’ll wish he was back at his grandparents house in Hawaii.
Roux — from what I know about Bill Richardson thus far, he’s tremendously well-qualified. I’m hoping his campaign gets some feet under it, so we / the country can hear more about him.
Polimom,
You and roux aren’t the only ones intrigued by Bill Richardson. Pajamas Media has been running a weekly poll of Democratic and Republican candidates (fortunately, the lists still fit on a single page!) for the last seven weeks. Bill Richardson consistently tops the Democratic list (40% overall this week; Barack Obama is second with 18%).
While the Pajamas Media crowd is not exactly representative of the national electorate, lots of people seem to think Richardson is a serious contender. Me too, FWIW.
FYI, Rudy Giuliani is consistently the leading Republican vote getter (30% of votes cast; Newt Gingrich is second with 18%).
Anyone up for a ‘Rudy versus Bill’ Presidential election in 2008?