How many more "distractions" to go?

LOL! Richardson is an Epic Fail in the flesh. Been missing ya, BTW.

Interesting you should put it quite that way...

"How many more 'distractions' to go?"

Our president-elect already has a LONG record of having little patience for 'distractions'.

Surely no one close to him would DARE remind him of how this most recent 'distraction' got on his Obama bus in the first place.

Won't be long before we can joke about getting thrown under Obama's Air Force One.

Git your parachutes now!

You're on the wrong track here. Richardson is not like the pols from Illinois. I will wager you that he did not entice money from, or promise a deal to the California company at the center of the grand jury investigation.
If anything, the owners of that company were just playing out what they THOUGHT was expected of them by contributing after the fact to his election campaign. It was stupid, but not illegal.
And an honest man like Richardson would not expect a bribe, especially after the fact.

As to Richardson withdrawing, my guess is that he doesn't want to be on the same team as Hillary and in such a minor post. This is just convenient for him. He is not what most people think he is. A quote: "I like to define myself as a new progressive who believes in free enterprise, social justice accountability, and responsibility."
He was misplaced by Obama at Commerce. He should have been the choice for Homeland Security. For instance, his solution to the approximately 12 million illegals involves what he calls "earned legalization" which is NOT citizenship, or amnesty. He calls for learning English, payment of back taxes, a fine up to nine thousand dollars, background checks, following the laws and what he calls "embracing American values". In other words, true assimilation into OUR culture.
Richardson is a fiercely patriotic man who would fix the weak border problem.
Whatever his liberal flaws, cheap bribes just don't fit his character.

You're going to have to try harder, Frank, than saying folks just imagined they had to pay to play in New Mexico and were stupid enough to contribute to Richardson's campaign. I don't doubt he likes to define himself as a guy who believes in "free enterprise" and "social justice accountability," since those mutually exclusive propositions give pandering new meaning.

What interests me about Richardson's career path over the past couple of years is that I can hardly remember a passing reference to his tenure as Secretary of Energy, even though energy has been a central issue on the political table. That's probably because his performance in that capacity turned into a national joke -- which does make the idea that he is not a corrupt idiot, just a run of the mill idiot vaguely plausible. Incompetence may seem be a qualification for Homeland Security, but I would hope for improvements there. The of Secretary of Commerce slot, however, is no minor post, BTW. It's one of the most consequential domestic positions of all, and considering our current economic straights, it's the last place we can afford even an innocent bumbler who is hapless enough to wander into an interstate scandal. If there's a Hillary component to his departure, I'd wager she's the one with the working animus.

In reconstructing the Richardson timelime, I was surprised for the nth time at how fast Wikipedia political bios get updated these days. Richardson's page already includes his pre-confirmation resignation! Are Republicans as quick on the draw? Or do the Dems have whole PR teams dedicated to monitoring and preemptively "updating" internet content.

BTW, it would be lovely to have a preview pane for posts to check formatting and links. I always hold my breath when I hit "Post" in the hope that I haven't screwed up a closing tag.

BTW, it would be lovely to have a preview pane for posts to check formatting and links. I always hold my breath when I hit "Post" in the hope that I haven't screwed up a closing tag.

Yeah. It is a pain. I fix them when they are broken. If you want to repost fixes I won't mind.

JM: Yes, Commerce Secretary is no minor post, but less than Sec. of State. Anyway, another thought - Richardson remembered the fate of Ron Brown.