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Opinion: Bill Richardson fires back at James Carville ‘in the gutter’

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Democratic strategist James Carville, one of Hillary Clinton‘s most vocal supporters, made news on Saturday when he accused New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson of ‘an act of betrayal’ by endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.

‘Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,’ Carville said in an article published in Saturday’s New York Times.

Ouch! is the first response. And then, you think, Say what?

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In politics, endorsing is a business with behind-the-scenes strategy and personal repercussions. Today, on the third day after, Richardson ...

got his chance to respond as voters pondered the ongoing Democratic dispute. And the governor turned the other cheek, sort of.

‘I’m not going to get in the gutter like that,’ he told ‘Fox News Sunday’ host Chris Wallace -- and then took his own swipe at supporters of the New York senator, who also lost another superdelegate when, as predicted on The Ticket Thursday night and detailed in two items here Friday, the nation’s only Hispanic governor signed onto the Obama team for its message of unity.

‘And you know, that’s typical of many of the people around Sen. Clinton,’ Richardson said. ‘They think they have a sense of entitlement to the presidency.’

Richardson did acknowledge that he’d gotten a couple of high-profile jobs -- U.N. ambassador and Energy secretary -- in Bill Clinton‘s administrations. ‘I am very loyal to the Clintons,’ he said. ‘... I served well, and I served the country well, and he gave me that opportunity.

‘But you know, Chris, it shouldn’t just be Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton. You know, what about the rest of us?’

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(And for those of you keeping track of the ‘Fox News Sunday’ Obama Watch, featured here last week: The ‘24’-style clock, complete with sound effects, was there today. The Illinois senator, once again, wasn’t. He was on the beach.)

--Leslie Hoffecker

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