WMAL-AM

Thought Number One

I think Barack Obama is a citizen of the United States.  I did not vote against him for president because I thought he was gaming the Constitution.  But having said that I have to ask why doesn’t this issue go away?  Is this just the choral ramblings of a disgruntled bunch that cannot stand to think of him as the leader of the free world?  Or is there some merit to the case (Donofrio v. Wells) that has actually gotten as far as the Supreme Court?

The only way we will know for certain is if the justices hear the arguments and issue a ruling.  Tossing the whole matter back to a lower court only fans the fires of controversy and further politicizes the argument.  Democrats still bristle over the 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore but they had to accept the verdict.  My guess is that Donofrio will be a rare 9-0 decision that may take the supremes all of 30 seconds to resolve but then this matter will be settled for a majority of the doubters.  I still may have to work on Mrs. Fred but that’s my problem not yours.

Thought Number Two

I think I’ve figured out why Bill Richardson is Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of Commerce.  The guy is capable and loyal and obviously Hispanic but let’s get real here.  This presidential election did not hang in the balance over New Mexico’s electoral vote and Obama probably would have won California and Florida without Richardson’s endorsement.  So it is a stretch to say he owed the New Mexico governor that large a payback and unlike the House of Clinton I doubt Richardson has either that much political clout or potentially damaging secrets to demand a spot in the Cabinet.

No, what Bill Richardson brings to President Obama’s administration is insurance.  He has serious foreign policy chops and an ego that is significantly smaller than the Junior Senator from New York so if for some reason something goes terribly wrong with the Hillary appointment Obama can call out to his bull pen coaches and say “warm up Richardson, he’s going on for Clinton”.  There would, of course, be some political damage particularly among Clinton loyalists but nothing that could not be contained.  Evidently, when he was an Illinois State Senator Obama had a reputation in Springfield as a pretty fair poker player.  With Richardson at Commerce he has just subtly but effectively hedged his bet at State.