ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Another Democrat off the list.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Another Democrat off the list.
Posted 3/30/07
It is hard to believe he stated this. Unbelievable...puts his foot in his mouth.

Tavis Smiley Show March 21 2007

Tavis: Alberto Gonzalez happens to be a member of your community. Is this guy gonna survive? He's the first Hispanic to have that job.

Richardson: Yeah, I know. I'm rooting for him, I like the guy, I know him. I hope he survives, but he's got to clean up his act and at least know what's happening in his department. He, at that press conference, said "Well, I didn't know anything about this." When you're heading a Cabinet agency—I did at the Department of Energy—and it's very hard to do that, 'cause you got thousands of people working for you.
But you gotta know what is happening with U.S. attorneys, because these are the top Justice Department attorneys in every state. So, he's gotta get more engaged, he's gotta clean up his act, he's gotta be forthcoming. I think the Congress needs to really investigate, but if I were the White House, I'd say "I'm gonna let Karl Rove testify, I'm gonna put everything on the table, I'm gonna let Harriet Miers, the former legal counsel.
I'm gonna have Alberto Gonzalez. They shouldn't be testifying in private. They should do it openly before the American people. That's a separation of powers. We should do that.

Tavis: It occurs to me now, listening to you talk about your friend who you know, Mr. Gonzalez, it draws a stark contrast between—I haven't checked where all the other candidates are, but I know Obama is on record very clearly saying Gonzalez should step down. I suspect other Democrats running for president are maybe saying the same thing. That's a contrast between you and others on whether or not this guy should step down.

Richardson: That's right. I do believe that it's up to a president to make those decisions about Cabinet members. Obviously, Alberto's very damaged, and he's gotta be frank and testify and do what has to happen. But I think that's up to the president.

Tavis: So you would not call for his stepping down right now.
Richardson: No, no. And you know what? Part of it maybe is because he's the highest-ranking Hispanic ever.

Tavis: But wrongdoing is wrongdoing, though. If he did wrong.
Richardson: Well, I think it's more a lack of attention, lack of a plan, lack of being thorough. He's too much the president's lawyer. He's too much of a political person. And I recognize that.

Tavis: Maybe, to your point, Governor—and I've had this thought. It's not my conversation, it's yours. Maybe Gonzalez was the wrong guy from the beginning, to the point you've just made now, which I've made any number of times. You had to know that this is the president's boy. This is his guy. They've been hanging out for years in Texas, he's White House counsel, he was involved in the—we know what he did before about writing on the torture and how to get around.
He is the president's guy. What makes any president think—or makes the Congress think—they approved this guy, they gave the guy confirmation—that this guy could be an independent voice at the Justice Department? I didn't see that anywhere in those confirmation hearings.

Richardson: They probably shouldn't have confirmed him. I don't think the president should have given him that job. He was White House counsel. He might have been an excellent ambassador to Mexico. He's very loyal to the president. I've had conversations with him on immigration. I thought he was very competent.
But he obviously was not engaged with his department. So, I do believe that if he doesn't come forth and testify and be frank with the American people and tell the Congress, then the president should remove him. But I just think, Tavis, that this is a presidential decision. You can pick your Cabinet. And if somebody's not performing, let him go.
And I don't agree with the president saying virtually that Alberto didn't do anything wrong, and that the Congress shouldn't have access to Karl Rove and to Harriet Miers. They should. But there's a human side to me. The guy's a very, very—came up from a very poor family, he's the highest-ranking Hispanic ever. Maybe I'm waiting a little more so that he cleans up his act before I join everybody else and try to, I guess, make some political hay out of this.

Am I reading into this? Or does this smell like he would favor race over justice?