Don't Break the Streak IMPROV

CHICAGO – Last March when Bill Richardson endorsed then-Candidate Barack Obama during the thick of the heated primary race and while Rev. Jeremiah Wright was burning up the airwaves, Team Clinton was none too pleased.

Former Bill Clinton advisor turned TV pundit James Carville went as far as to call the onetime Clinton Energy Secretary under a modern day Judas for his decision to back Senator Hillary Clinton’s foe. Richardson himself admitted tension, describing the phone call to Mrs. Clinton to notify her of his decision. “Let me tell you: we’ve had better conversations,” he told reporters with an uncomfortable laugh.

But it was his relationship with President Bill Clinton, who has yet to fully forgive his former Energy Secretary, that suffered most. “‘It could be pretty much a permanent fissure. But that’s politics, that’s OK,” Richardson told NPR last month.

On Wednesday, Mr. Richardson was rewarded for his decision to endorse the then underdog candidate during a time when Mr. Obama needed help the most, when he was offered a cabinet role in the new Administration. The President-elect praised Richardson for his breadth of experience and then opened up the microphone to the new nominee, who noted what was at the forefront of everyone’s mind: Mr. Obama’s ever expanding “team of rivals.”

“There are some who speak of a team of rivals, but I’ve never seen it that way,” Mr. Richardson began his remarks. “Past competitors, yes. But rivals implies something harder edged and less forgiving. And in the worlds of diplomacy and commerce, you open markets and mines not with rivalry but instead with partnership and innovation and hard work,” he explained, perhaps aware of the many news reports that would be sure to rehash his relationship with the Clintons.

Richardson, who many considered a frontrunner for Secretary of State, of course did not get that, the most high profile Cabinet job, but was instead named Mr. Obama’s pick for Commerce Secretary. A Telemundo reporter called on during today’s news conference bluntly asked the President-elect if this was a consolation prize to appease Latinos.

“Well, Commerce Secretary is a pretty good job,” Mr. Obama said to laughter, before clarifying the job will play a key role in fixing the economy. “Bill Richardson has been selected because he is the best person for that job, and is going to be outstanding in helping me strategize on how do we rebuild America,” he added.

The soon-to-be President pointed out he’s only appointed half of his Cabinet so far, and predicted his Cabinet and White House staff will be one of the most diverse of all time. “One of the strong beliefs that I’ve always held, and has proven to be correct throughout my career, is that there’s no contradiction between diversity and excellence. I’m looking for the best people, first and foremost, to serve the American people. It just so happens that Bill Richardson is one of those people,” he concluded.