Stop right there! I strenuously object to the use of the word Bimbo in that question. But let's back up and take a look at an earlier question recently put to Bill Richardson by Democratic blogger Steven Clemons:
"Have you behaved inappropriately or not in public settings with female members of your government administration, jokingly or not? Have you gestured to female public servants and political appointees -- who work as colleagues with you -- and made lewd gestures, specifically pointing to them and then pointing at your crotch with a room full of media and other politicos there in the room?"
[warning rant below the jump - also update added March 14, 2007]
Late last night/early this morning I read the following comment in a front page straw poll thread:
Richardson
is reputed to be disrespectful of women. Is this true? Somewhere it was reported; then disappeared. Can anyone shed some light on this, please?
by pearlegates on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 04:58:08 PM PST
I answered pearlegates by providing Clemons' question & a link to his article. This morning I was informed that Bill Richardson had responded to Clemons' question in an interview conducted by The Albuquerque Tribune's political reporter Kate Nash and The Tribune's managing editor Kate Nelson. It was published in yesterday's Albuquerque Tribune:
Tribune: Rumors are a tool of the trade in politics. Throughout your political career, you've been dogged by rumors that you're either rude to women or too chummy with women. Now it's all over the blogosphere. There's that one post that keeps coming up about behavior you may or may not have exhibited. They're saying you may have a bimbo problem. How do you respond to that?
Richardson: Those are just mean-spirited rumors. If you look at my record, there's never been anything published. I've been confirmed twice by the U.S. Senate. I've been vetted by the FBI. I was confirmed by the Senate for Cabinet positions. I've been through seven elections for Congress, two for governor.
I have been married to Barbara for 33 years. We have a very strong marriage.
These are mean-spirited rumors that have no basis.
And finally, I was vetted for vice president. They will tell you there was no problem of any kind. No scandal.
Sure, I've made mistakes as a human being, but those are just mean-spirited rumors. That's all I have to say.
Bimbo Problem? WTF? My mind is reeling. Are Kates Nash and Nelson trying to curry favor by framing the question in a way insulting to women? Was it Nash or Nelson who referred to female colleagues of the Governor as bimbos? Are female public servants and political appointees bimbos? Maybe I don't get it. I can't imagine that Richardson was anything if not eager to lay to rest the serious allegations of inappropriate conduct layed out by Steven Clemons. He probably jumped at the offer of an interview with the Tribune. But I really wonder if Bill Richardson dispatched the question put to him by Steven Clemons. Why did Richardson not object to the use of the word bimbo in his interview with Kates Nash and Nelson? Does that question not blame the victims? Did he not understand that his failure to to object to the misogynistic subtext of the question might fan the flames rather than extinguish them?
I have to admit that I do see the discussion of Bill Richardson's purported inappropriate behavior as something of a distraction. I have many serious criticisms of the presidential hopeful. I'd prefer to be discussing important issues including but not limited to his key role in the passage of the NAFTA; his opposition to single-payer universal health care, his blocking of the Kerry v. Bush recount and related election integrity matters, and then there's Bill Richardson's Plutonium Dump down near the Carlsbad National Caverns.
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March 14, 2007 Update: Politico recently reported on this issue:
On repeated occasions, Richardson has been pressed by reporters or Democratic activists on whether his personal conduct can withstand public scrutiny.
Richardson, in an interview with The Politico, denied behaving inappropriately, calling the talk "mean-spirited." Still, the concerns have become enough of a headwind for Richardson's campaign that the candidate has a more substantive response -- that his personal conduct was vetted, and effectively given a seal of approval, when he was considered for the vice presidential nomination by John F. Kerry in 2004.
"The Kerry people vetted me for vice president," he told The Politico last week.
This line of defense has been seen repeatedly right here on Daily Kos, but Politico went on to show that the vetting process had not been completed:
"He wanted to be considered because he wanted his name out there," a senior Democrat close to the vice presidential process said of Richardson. "And once his name was out there, he withdrew. So there was never a full vetting."
This Democrat said Richardson's citing of the 2004 vetting process as a rejoinder to questions about his personal behavior is "a crazy thing to go around saying."
There are comments attached to this and other Daily Kos diaries that may be of interest to the reader. I will highlight some of them here as I find them.
Here's a comment offered by bwintx on the diary Rich Man, Rich Heart (And a Surge in the Polls!) by R o o k:
The swift-boating is a real concern
Now that he has entered the race, the stories from NM about his, um, behavior around the ladies (you can easily find 'em via Google, and a friend of mine who is one of his contributors has confirmed observing some of it) could do exactly what we don't need -- let some of the air out of the enlarging blue balloon.
It's very sad. He has a helluva great resume at several levels -- indeed, he may be the best-qualified candidate in either party -- and does seem to be a genuinely nice human being. But, as with the Big Dog, there is this nagging flaw...
by bwintx on Fri Jan 26, 2007
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peace