Much Respect To Bill Richardson

For holding the line against James Carville. hat tip Pam's House Blend

Bill Richardson Endorses Obama

Here's the story from the AP.

Here's the letter Richardson sent out about 15 minutes ago. It's not even on his website yet:

Dear Friend,

During the last year, I have shared with you my vision and hopes for this nation as we look to repair the damage of the last seven years. And you have shared your support, your ideas and your encouragement to my campaign. We have been through a lot together and that is why I wanted to tell you that, after careful and thoughtful deliberation, I have made a decision to endorse Barack Obama for President.

We are blessed to have two great American leaders and great Democrats running for President. My affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver. It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall. The 1990's were a decade of peace and prosperity because of the competent and enlightened leadership of the Clinton administration, but it is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward. Barack Obama will be a historic and a great President, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad.

Earlier this week, Senator Barack Obama gave an historic speech. that addressed the issue of race with the eloquence, sincerity, and optimism we have come to expect of him. He inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility. He asked us to rise above our racially divided past, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together.

As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants--specifically Hispanics-- by too many in this country. Hate crimes against Hispanics are rising as a direct result and now, in tough economic times, people look for scapegoats and I fear that people will continue to exploit our racial differences--and place blame on others not like them . We all know the real culprit -- the disastrous economic policies of the Bush Administration!

Senator Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race. He understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans.

His words are those of a courageous, thoughtful and inspiring leader, who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And, after nearly eight years of George W. Bush, we desperately need such a leader.

To reverse the disastrous policies of the last seven years, rebuild our economy, address the housing and mortgage crisis, bring our troops home from Iraq and restore America's international standing, we need a President who can bring us together as a nation so we can confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad.

During the past year, I got to know Senator Obama as we campaigned against each other for the Presidency, and I felt a kinship with him because we both grew up between words, in a sense, living both abroad and here in America. In part because of these experiences, Barack and I share a deep sense of our nation's special responsibilities in the world.

So, once again, thank you for all you have done for me and my campaign. I wanted to make sure you understood my reasons for my endorsement of Senator Obama. I know that you, no matter what your choice, will do so with the best interests of this nation, in your heart.

Sincerely,

Bill Richardson

John Edwards, where you at?

Those Who Would Be President and Hurricane Katrina - A Review

I took a jog around presidential candidate websites to see how they were responding publicly to the public's dismay/astonishment over what happened 2 years ago and what hasn't happened (in terms of Gulf Coast relief and recovery) since. (the photo above was taken not long after the levees breached in New Orleans and people were drowning).

The re-building of New Orleans and the Gulf region could have been a boon to the U.S. economy with one of the biggest public works projects in American history. New homes could have been built and bought at a time when the real estate industry needs help. New Orleans could have been a shining example of American industy, ingenuity and science as a sparkling clean, safe and energy-efficient metropolis rose from Katrina's ashes.

That hasn't happened. Yet. Instead, President Bush proposes $200 billion for Iraq spending while local police are running low on ammunition to protect folks here at home. Just so we're clear -- at a time when we are threatened by terrorists, police around the country are conserving bullets because the war in Iraq is soaking up all the ammo. We're killing that many "terrorists" over there. Feel safer?

But I digress. I primarily looked at frontrunners on either party.

John Edwards has the biggest presence on Katrina on his site and he's got the second best plan, IMHO. He might have gone with an image featuring Edwards and Katrina survivors on the homepage rather than a big image of the hateful storm itself, though. Weird choice.

Barack Obama and Bill Richardson also have prime placement to reflect the importance of the issue on their home pages. Hillary Clinton's site features the 10 top ten reasons we should vote for her and give her money. Much smaller right below a giant picture of her smiling on a day when some people aren'tthere's a tiny image and link to what's actually a pretty good plan. Um, yeah, ok.

All the frontrunners have good-sounding thought-out plans though Richardson's is perhaps the weakest. Obama has the most detailed and keepin'-it-realest best plan though it's presented as a PDF with a brief summary that looks like everyone else's. Doh!

When reviewing the Republican candidate sites, I admit I was shocked.

Rudy Giuliani is running on his dubious record on 9/11 and whom associates himself with security and crisis response. Yet there is only a headline link for a terse Katrina statement. Rudy Giuliani's press release on his Wisconsin co-chairs is about twice the length of his statement on Katrina. He offers no plan to help those impacted by Katrina nor does Mitt Romney who has a similar shortish statement that didn't even make it to his homepage. But never fear: "Create Your Own Ad" did! Whee!

Fred Thompson? I could find no mention of Katrina on his homepage despite numerous feature spots to include something. Anything. The newsroom also yielded nada at the time I am writing this.

Mike Huckabee? -- the same sad 1 paragraph statement as the rest.

John McCain? Also, just a simple link on his site to a 3 paragraph (at least it's a little longer than his rivals' pitiful efforts) statement. And only McCain gets a bit more direct on the subject:

The failure of government's response to Katrina is one example of why Americans have lost faith in our government.

Or have they just mostly lost faith in Republicans? I mean, no wonder Republicans are less than enthusiastic about this lineup. The candidates all do nothing but mouth empty, shuffling platitudes. You can almost see them mumbling these statements while looking at their shoes. I'd like to save you some time and summarize what all 4 men who have statements say:

"I feel bad about what happened. It's a messed up situation. we need to make sure this doesn't happen again and as President, I would handle that kind of situation better in the future. America is Number 1."

This isn't about white or black - do they think that their supporters don't really care that much about Katrina and what it says about our national disaster preparedness in a time of war??? Did some RNC memo get sent out that said, hey fellas, let's just try and duck-n-cover, do a little soft-shoe maybe, til the anniversary is over and people forget about that whole mess? Most of the Republican candidates as far as I can tell aren't visiting New Orleans or the Gulf this week in contrast to the Democratic candidates. Even Bush and Rove are doing the walk of shame back to the N'awlins they abandoned two years ago.

These are the men who wish to be president? Please. The GOP is no longer the party of national security and through its treatment of Katrina survivors, can't claim to be the party of family values either...

Maxine Waters Stands Up for Darfur

I like to take note when Congressional Black Caucus members show real leadership. So here's part of the story from the Politico Crypt on Rep. Maxine Waters' just-introduced resolution, inspired by Bill Richardson no doubt, to turn up the heat on China's financial support of Khartoum's criminal, genocidal regime. The comments are mixed -- many are supportive with some asking why American athletes must be punished. I'd like to think that American athletes would want to add their voices to the campaign to stop the genocide. It would be nice to hear of athletes and corporate sponsors willing to put pressure on China, for whom the Olympics are a huge deal.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution as Congress prepared to break for the August recess Saturday, urging President Bush to boycott the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Waters and others involved in the effort to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, where an estimated 200,000 people have died and millions more are homeless, want to pressure China to curtail its support of the Sudanese government.

Sudan earned about $4 billion from oil sales last year, with 80 percent of that coming from China, according to Fortune magazine. Chinese firms also have helped build up the country's infrastructure, leading to an economic boom in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and China has stepped up arms sales to the strife-ravaged nation.

Western human-rights groups are pressuring China to cut or reduce its ties to the government of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. And China has responded to some of the pressure. But a U.S. boycott of the Olympics would be a major blow to a showcase event designed to highlight China's ascendancy as a world power.