[Apologies; turns out, there's some language in the last second of this 1:55 clip]
R.I.P., Bill Richardson’s presidential aspirations:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is shelving his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination after back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Richardson, 60, planned to announce his plans Thursday, according to two people close to the governor with knowledge of the decision. They spoke late Wednesday on condition of anonymity in advance of the governor’s remarks.
Well, bless these two little anonymites’ hearts for breaking this story! This ain’t what his post-primary speech sounded like Tuesday night. You know, like how he kept saying things like, “Thanks for all your hard work. I’ll always admire your efforts on behalf of this campaign, and remember how hard you worked.”
Honestly, I couldn’t hear the audio very well [it was on C-SPAN, and my TV doesn't, strictly speaking, get C-SPAN], but it sounded like [and in saying "sounded like," I of course mean "the spotty captions read like"] a resignation speech. Until he tacked a weak, “We”ll get ‘em in South Carolina,” or “See ya in Michigan,” or some such onto the end of it.
I have long thought that Richardson (of the Distrito Federal Richardsons) was [aside from the obvious hispandering, which, let's face it, is endemic to the Democrat Party — and Richardson can get a semi-pass, because he's at least of hispanic stock] [Come to think of it, the Republicans are pretty lousy with it, too. Case in point, the first Mexican President of the United States] arguably the best the Dems had to offer this cycle [not, of course, that that really means squat]. So it makes sense that he, a contender (with 2% in Iowa and 5% in New Hampshire, not a strong contender; but at least he put points on the board), would drop out while the poster children for lack-of-traction, Kucinich and Gravél stay in it.
One wonders what kind of back-room wheeling and dealing precipitated this move. He’s already been a Congressman, a UN diplomat, and a Cabinet member. [Ugh... entrenched!] Vice President, maybe? [A Clinton/Richardson ticket?]
And then there were five….
So what’s next?
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Kucinich [the True Believer] isn’t going anywhere, and I doubt anyone feels a need to buy off Gravél ['cause, what's the point?].
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Will Obama’s ascendant and Edwards’ stalling campaigns unite against the new Billary for a future Obama/Edwards ticket, with a virtual guarantee of an Edwards nomination in ‘12?
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Will Edwards ever tire of playing second fiddle to a better politician, something he’s done since he entered politics?
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Will either party ever pull its head out of its… sand?
Only time will tell.
