The endorsement business: Richardson, Obama and 2 Clintons

There are political endorsements -- and then there's what goes on behind political endorsements. And today, courtesy of New Mexico Bill Richardson's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, we got a little peek into that sacred political process that campaigns devote so much effort to and the rest of us typically yawn over.

First of all, there's constant endorsee wooing going on. Seemingly impromptu phone calls from the candidate or high aides. Flowers for the spouse on her birthday. All kinds of things. John Edwards and Al Gore are the targets right now

Ex-President Bill Clinton invited himself over to Richardson's home last month to watch the Super Bowl and they talked and chewed chips, and Bill reminded Bill about the important jobs he'd given him during the Clinton White House administration and how important the Hispanic governor's endorsement would be for Hillary now.

"I was about to do it," Richardson said on MSNBC today. "He's very persuasive."

Clinton went away thinking at least he'd prevented Richardson from endorsing Obama.

But Richardson got to thinking he'd wait a bit. And, as reported here 10 days ago, Richardson seemed to be leaning toward Obama. In fact, he'd told Obama he was "99%" with him. The delay caused Obama's Chicago headquarters to worry.

Meanwhile, Richardson found himself....

increasingly disturbed by the criticisms and racial tones and then impressed with Obama and what the governor called his courageous race speech this week. And that clinched it for Richardson.

What we didn't see or hear was last night's phone conversation when Richardson made the courtesy call to Clinton to inform her she was not his choice. Doesn't sound like that went too friendly. "It was a painful conversation for me that I had with Sen. Clinton last night," Richardson told CNN's John King today.

King bored in, saying he'd heard from others that such conversations with the Clintons could actually be downright unpleasant. "Well," Richardson added, "let's say it was a difficult conversation." That leaves a good deal to the imagination about what might have been said about ingratitude and perceived promises.

Today, the Clinton campaign, which so badly wanted Richardson's O.K. that it sent a former president all the way to Santa Fe to spend most of a weekend with the guy, was putting out the word through Mark Penn that Richardson's endorsement, coming after the Texas primary with all of its Hispanic voters, actually was too late to matter much to anyone.

Richardson said that's "typical of many of the people in that campaign," adding, "I still have enormous respect for Sen. Clinton."

Back on CNN, King asked the obligatory question about the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket. And Richardson  said, "Well, you know, John. I love being governor of New Mexico and growing my beard and, you know, riding my horse. So I'm going to work very hard for him to get elected."

Translation: I'd accept in a heartbeat.

As an elected Democrat, Richardson is a superdelegate to the national convention. So one more of those for Obama. But Richardson's endorsement of Obama goes against his state's popular primary vote for Clinton March 5. The governor may hear about that in months to come, assuming he doesn't, oh, get some kind of new federal job assignment.

But here's something else to watch for. As of Feb. 29, according to The Times' Dan Morain, Richardson had a reported remaining campaign debt from his own doomed presidential effort of $420,848. Other presidential dropouts who end up endorsing a former competitor have found those debts quickly disappearing through contributions from the grateful competitor's supporters.

It's probably just a coincidence though.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[thebob.bob]

Obama/Richardson in the White house, with Edwards as AG and Clinton in the Senate, would be a powerful team. It'll take years to fix the damage done by Bush and his Republican supporters.

[Highest Bidders do win]

Sooooo, Bill and Hillary would'nt cough-up and Richardson
got his price from Obama who is just flush with cash .
Richardson was very convincing on CNN when he said
he has enormous respect for Hillary....but his creditors
were getting restless, threatening to seize his horses and all. Lots of people think he cant even deliver his state.ask
John F'n Kerry.

[koun]

This guy is very clever: he is waiting to be sure that the winning horse appears before making his bid. It s all for
him the work that has been done not for Obama.

[george]

65% Latinos support Hillary, and got the most votes in New Mexico. In the Latino community we had a high regard for Richardson, as Now we consider him as a TRAIDOR. Better known as EL TRAIDOR.

[Meg]

Interesting.

He wanted to switch to Hillary and then went to Obama because of a series of events. :) He seems to me that he is more after his VP position than anything else.

I guess he is right after all when he was saying that "the endorsements do not mean anything".

[Jeremy]

It is a wonder how ungrateful some people are. They just keep lookiing for tomorrow's handout and hoping the next opportunity is a better one. They forget those who have made them what they are. It is no wonder that Richardson was deservedly ignored in the debates. He got what he earned. I wonder if anyone is dumb enough to pick him as a VP nominee? Maybe he will get his campaign debts picked up by Obama in any event.

[Pepe]

george: I hope you're trolling. What has Hillary done for the hispanic community? Her husband's actions aren't hers. What has SHE done?

[EK Darris]

I think maybe hes thinking Obama will pay his debt for him but who cares Clinton will make history first woman President of the free world.

[Alex]

Hmmmmmmmmmm -- further proof of what we already knew: the Hill-bots are stalking every possible website in an attempt to insert anti-Obama "spins."
The complaints re Obama's funding are laughable. So sorry that he's getting so many donations from small-timers, whereas poor HC is merely very, VERY wealthy (though she still won't release her tax returns, she's flush enough to lend herself $5 mill). And, sadly (!), poor HC must rely on donations from her big PACs and very, very wealthy Estabishment-and-other supporters.
So no more "poor-mouthing" on HC's behalf, please: It's the height (or abyss) of absurdity.

[Scott]

Uh-oh, more "latino community" nonsense rearing it's ugly head in political blog comments (I'm looking at you, "george").

These political blogs are full of comments by "latino" folks today. Apparently they all support Hillary Clinton and consider Bill Richardson a TRAITOR (helping you out with the spelling there, "george") for endorsing Barack Obama. Who are these nutty "latino" sheep people? And where does the "latino community" meet to discuss how much they love Hillary Clinton? Apparently "george" gets an invite but I don't even though I'm 100% hispanic (latino!).

I wonder about some of these "latino" comments today, actually. Some of them seem a bit fishy. They are often the same comments posted across many political blogs. Paid for by the Clinton campaign, maybe? Are "latino" fingers really typing all of these angry "latino" comments?

Well, in any case, george, next time there's a community meeting, send me an invite. I just realized that I am incapable of thinking for myself and need to tap into the "latino" hive mind for instructions. Gracias.

[Justin Tran]

IMAGINE THAT! a black and a latino running the country? whatever happens to all those good old white boys?
Hummmm!

[lukas24]

Ok, this Wright stuff is disturbing, very. But the bigger problem I have for Mr. Obama is his pattern of saying one thing and then distancing himself from those words when the opposite is revealed at a later date. That is called "spin", people. We have a need and right to know Senator Obama from every angle and what he believes when he talks of equality and a "vision" for America.

To say that Clinton +/or Obama is at fault for the direction the Democratic campaign has headed, is ludicrous and short-sighted. America is a melting pot of races, genders, culture, etc. and we each have a personal interest in seeing "ourselves" in our President. With that connection comes passion and emotional investment. However, it also must be tempered with information about the candidates (good and bad, without negative "label" attached to said information) so that we can make informed choices, rather than only emotionally-driven ones. To Americans: try to take off the blinders of opinion polls, media spin, mud and excitement. That person is Senator Clinton. She has worked hard and diligently for all Americans, and spent years building strong relationships because she has a passionate vision of what America can be, not just because she's running for President. Vetted, intelligent, tested and hardworking.

Senator Clinton is the right choice for me in '08

[PulSamsara]

Any more of this nomination process only ensures a third Bush term.

It's time for the Democratic Party to come together. Now.

[Character Counts]

Bill Richardson made the same choice every American gets to make in the voting booth, nothing more and nothing less. In typical Clinton fashion, the Clintons are now trying to diminish the importance of Richardson’s endorsement, after they tried hard to get that same endorsement. Ever notice how only those primaries, in which Hillary received the majority of the votes, count?

[fortnoy amestoy]

I'm amazed. doesn't anyone consider that he really might have been torn about who to endorse? and that what he said was true. That after hearing Obama's speech, he made up his mind. Anyone who truly listened to that speech and wasn't already polluted and contaminated with spin syndrome and cynicism, would know, that they had just listened to, as Bill Richardson said, a once in a lifetime leader.

[Matt]

Its conventional politics. Take it or leave it. 4 years of a diet Obama is better than 4 years of a good Clinton or McCain. I'll take my chances with Obama knowing that the fangs of Bush will be in Crawford biting on beef jerky instead of the world.

[Anee]

Obama is done, his pastor Wright did him in, he has no one to blame but himself.
Richardson, the loser means nothing.

[Allen]

It's 80+% political ambition for the VP position along with debt political debt reduction at 10-% -- or thereabouts.

On the Obama "swing speech," it's really hard to see it as anywhere near great. As most puzzling we may ask why did Obama kept Jeremiah Wright for 20 years as his pastor, friend, and spiritual adviser in view of this man's vitriolic and distorted image of America and even the US government. Particularly disconcerting was Obama’s lengthily evolving guilt-trip laid on the white race so as to rationalize and then suggest acceptance of the long-term, present-day offensive preaching behavior in black churches on race-driven anger. After being struck by that obvious inference I found this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032003017.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

The whole thing has left me saddened and especially now with this endorsement.

[javier]

Hey George,

"EL TRAIDOR' fits you very good!. It is hard for me to believe that a person that belongs to a minority group (Hispanics) like you, be so narrow minded no to see that having Mr. Obama in the Withe Hose would l be of great benefit to all minority groups. Don't you get it? The Latinos or Hispanics (call it whatever you want) are the escape goats of todays racial injustices, just look on the daily news and see all kinds of atrocities inflicted against our communities because you and me are 'INDITOS FROM THE SOUTH'. I'm totally disappointed that the majority of Hispanics voted against Mr. Obama. Shame, shame!!!!!!!! Therefore, what Mr. Richardson did, was the right thing to do!.......LATINOS LETS VOTE FOR OBAMA...OBAMA...OBAMA.

COZI

[DC]

Please tell me that you are kidding when you say that Obama is the candidate who says one thing when it's politically advisable and then changes it when it's better for him the other way. Obama is the first politician I've seen in a long time of which this is actually NOT true.

As we all know, Hillary voted for the war in the beginning. I'll give her a pass on that because so many were fooled at the time (except Obama that is). When it came to the credit card cap she voted for it, and later said that she hoped it wouldn't pass (???). Then, she supported NAFTA publicly, over and over again, even writing supporting words in her own book, but when it came time for the Ohio primaries, she bashed it. What's worse about that incident is that she then makes a bid deal out of a comment by someone who wasn't even with Obama's campaign at the time, who said that Obama's talk on NAFTA was political. How can the words of a man not with Obama's campaign, after Obama has been consistent on the subject since before the campaigns began, mean more than Hillary changing her own words to fit the political landscape of the present primary?

He opposed the war when the popular vote was for it, and has been consistent in his stance as others have caught up. He criticized NAFTA from the beginning and remained consistent in that as we are seeing that ill effects. Then, at a time when he needed to be most careful in regards to race, he gave the most open, honest, and courageous speech on race that any national legislator has ever given. He truly started the discussion that so many have only talked about starting.

Obama has been consistent and courageous in his campaign. And, though this fight has been billed as change versus experience, Obama is not only the candidate of real change, but he actually has more legislative experience than Hillary.

The endorsements keep coming for Barack Obama because the people who know them the best, and who understand this what is real and what is politics, realize who best represents the Democratic party and what this country needs at this time. Kennedy, Kerry, Dodd, and Richardson are the most well respected Democrats in the party today. I truly believe that Bill Clinton would endorse Obama if he wasn't married to Hillary. There is only one choice in this election.

[weighing_in]

no way that Obama can win FL, OH and PA against McCain - GO HILLARY!

[M.K. Ozman]

Senator Hillary Clinton began her campaign with strong support from two contingents of voters: older women/feminists who were drawn to her as Hillary, and Latinos who were drawn to her as a Clinton. Both contingents were sincere and truthful in their belief in Senator Clinton and her worthiness. But the unexpected rise of Senator Barack Obama, drove a third unseemly contingent to her camp: racist whites who could not stomach the prospect of an African American in the White House – one with a foreign-sounding name at that and a Muslim “Hussein” in the middle for good measure. Senator Clinton’s sure downfall began when she started pandering to these opportunistic new comers in South Carolina, Texas and Ohio out of desperation. This strategy would have worked for her were she seeking nomination in the Republican party, but not in the Democratic party. Although it certainly worked for her with some voters in Texas and Ohio, politically it was self-damaging and very short-sighted. In a nomination where the leaders of the Democratic Party are destined to play a king-making role, these leaders – who mostly come from well-educated diverse backgrounds – would never look favorably on tactics that appeal to the voters’ baser instincts. Hence Richardson’s unforeseen desertion to Obama’s camp, and hence Pelosi’s all-but-declared sympathy with Obama, Dean’s leg-dragging on Florida and Michigan, etc. In fact, Obama in his measured and manifestly elevated approach bet all his campaign on Hillary’s strategy turning off the super-delegates. At times, his unwillingness to engage Hillary in her mud-slinging attacks was very frustrating to his voting contingents, exposing him to the real risk of destruction by negative slandering. It turns out, he was immensely wiser than many thought. His strategy is now winning, even in the face of the pastor Wright debacle, which he also handled superbly. Most of the leaders of the democratic party have concluded that his cool, ethical, and effective managements skills qualify him to lead his nation and take his place among the world leaders.

[August]

I am sure Richardson could have the debt mentioned in the article paid off by the Clinton and her doners as well as the VP position. So these are not the only reasons why he endorsed Obama. Sometime, we analyse things too much, doing too much of reading between the lines. Lets just accept it as a fact that he really likes the sound of Obama. Can you blame him?

[Misty]

Richardson has every right to endorse whoever he wants, even after saying a superdelegate should follow his/her constituents (NM voted Clinton, btw). And Obama has every right to admit to knowing about Wright's extremist rhetoric, even after denying being aware of anything controversial. And Obama can claim to be an effective uniter of a country, even though he couldn't even prevent divisiveness or promote unity in his own church. And voters of FL and MI have every right to vote for a candidate and party that values their vote rather than a candidate that actually worked to disenfranchise them. Fair's fair.

[Robert Zuckschwerdt]

Just what we need with all our other problems, economy in the tank, health insurance crisis, budget deficiet as far as the eye can see, middleclass in America disappearing, and Obama wants to pit Blacks against Whites! That's change we can't believe in!!!!!