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Obama Taps Richardson for Commerce Secretary
December 03, 2008 2:18 PM
ABC News' Matt Jaffe Reports:
President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday tapped New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be his Secretary of Commerce, bringing yet another former rival into his cabinet and the first Hispanic thus far. At a Chicago press conference this morning, Obama touted Richardson's ability to help lead the country out of its economic recession and expressed optimism that the nation had all the necessary tools to recover from the current crisis.
"I am more confident than ever that we have everything we need to renew our economy," Obama said. "We've got the ingenuity, the technology, the skill and commitment. We just need to put it to work."
But while rescuing the country from recession is crucial, Obama noted that rejuvenating the economy for the long-term will also be Richardson's responsibility.
"It's time to not just address the immediate economic threats, but to start laying the groundwork for long-term prosperity, to help American businesses grow and thrive at home, and expand our efforts to promote American enterprise around the world," he stated. "This work is the core mission of the secretary of commerce and with his breadth and depth of experience in public life, Governor Richardson is uniquely suited for this role as a leading economic diplomat for America."
Richardson becomes the third Democratic primary opponent that Obama has officially named to his cabinet, joining Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton. But their campaign trail battles seemed long gone today as Obama called him "a great friend" and Richardson tried to quash any talk about a "team of rivals."
"There are some who speak of a team of rivals, but I've never seen it that way," said the New Mexico governor. "Past competitors, yes. But rivals implies something harder edged and less forgiving. And in the worlds of diplomacy and commerce, you open markets and minds not with rivalry, but instead with partnership and innovation and hard work."
First Hispanic Member Named to Obama Cabinet
Richardson, a former Secretary of Energy, ambassador to the United Nations, and congressman, is the first Hispanic named to Obama's cabinet. "Si se puede!" he said, echoing Obama's supporters' "Yes we can!" mantra as he delivered a portion of his remarks in Spanish.
"It will be a great honor, to serve once again, a president, who recognizes that America's diverse heritage is its greatest strength," he said.
In another gesture to Latinos, Obama sought to soothe any discontent within the Hispanic community that Richardson had not been named Secretary of State.
"Commerce secretary is a pretty good job," Obama said with understatement as reporters laughed. "You know, it's a member of my key economic team that is going to be dealing with the most significant issue that America faces right now, and that is how do we put people back to work and rejuvenate the economy? Bill Richardson has been selected because he is the best person for that job."
The President-elect also attempted to put to rest any concerns that his cabinet would not be diverse enough, while at the same time cautioning that candidates were not being selected simply for diversity alone.
"I think that when people look back and see the entire slate, what they will say is -- not only in terms of my cabinet, but in terms of -- but in terms of my White House staff -- I think people are going to say, this is one of the most diverse cabinets and White House staffs of all time," predicted the President-elect. "But more importantly, they're going to say these are all people of outstanding qualifications and excellence."
"So, you know, 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," he continued. "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."
The only problem with the Commerce Secretary nominee? He shaved his beard.
"I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it," said Obama, jumping in to reply to a reporter's question for Richardson about his formerly scruffy look. "I thought that whole western rugged look was really working for him. For some reason, maybe because it was scratchy when he kissed his wife, he was forced to get rid of it. But we're deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard."
All About the Economy: Auto Industry Bailout & TARP Distribution
Wednesday's announcement signaled Obama's focus on the country's financial crisis as he continues to rapidly fill key cabinet posts. After unveiling his economic team last week, Obama moved on to national security Monday before getting back to the economic meltdown with a meeting yesterday with the nation's governors and today's introduction of Richardson.
"With each passing day, the work our team has begun developing plans to revive our economy becomes more urgent," Obama warned. "Earlier this week, we learned that the U.S. economy has been in recession since December of 2007 and that our manufacturing output is at a 26-year low, two stark reminders of the magnitude of the challenges we face."
Today's press conference marked the President-elect's fifth in the past 10 days, almost becoming the equivalent of a daily briefing as he again fielded questions from a pre-picked posse of reporters. Once Obama had found his misplaced list of media members to call on, he was asked how the government can help Detroit's Big Three stave off bankruptcy as auto executives return to Capitol Hill this week for more hearings.
"It appears, based on reports that we've seen, that this time now the executives from these automakers are putting forward a more serious set of plans," Obama said. "I don't want to comment on them before I've actually heard and seen what they're putting forward. But I'm glad that they recognize the expectations of Congress, certainly, my expectations that we should maintain a viable auto industry, but we should also make sure that any government assistance that's provided is designed for a -- is based on realistic assessments of what the auto market is going to be and a realistic plan for how we're going to make these companies viable over the long term."
Obama also cautioned that he is keeping a close eye on the allocation of the $700 billion in the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), citing a Government Accountability Office report that criticized how the TARP has been handled.
"What I can assure you is that my team is very active in reviewing what's already been done to ensure that when we hit the ground running on January 20th, that any taxpayer money is going to be properly spent," Obama said, emphasizing that assisting homeowners would in turn aid the overall economy.
"We've got to start helping homeowners in a serious way, prevent foreclosures," he added. "The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes. And if we help Main Street, ultimately, we're going to help Wall Street."
-- Matt Jaffe
December 3, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (10)
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Obama said he's going to expand jobless benefits!! He knows NOTHING about economics! He should be giving businesses tax breaks so they can CREATE MORE JOBS. He wants people to work or sit on their butts????????
Posted by: Dave | Jan 4, 2009 6:22:48 PM
Good heavens I've had enough of "western". 8 years of fake cowboy shoved down my throat. But I thought Richardson looked more like a unibomber recluse type with all that facial hair. But without it OTOH he looks too fat.
Posted by: buzzie | Dec 6, 2008 5:11:24 PM
I love Bill Richardson, I think he's a good man, and was hoping he would be picked for a cabinet position .... BUT
What was he saying in spanish?
Why was it different than what he was saying in English?
What's he trying to pull?
If you have something to say to the country, speak english in this country. That was just wrong speaking different words in spanish. It's rude. It's like when people speak another language in your presence cuz they know you won't understand it. RUDE. Governor Richardson, when addressing the United States, the country you serve, SPEAK ENGLISH! I don't recall you being elected by Latin America. If you want to serve latin america, move there. I'm mad at him, and I'm surprised Obama let it fly.
Posted by: TerryLynn | Dec 4, 2008 3:17:21 PM
I listened to the dog-and-pony show today, especially when Richardson was speaking in spanish to all the illegal immigrants. He told them to hang on a little longer, because after the 20th of Enero, Obama and Napolitano are pulling all border security and giving 30 million plus illegals a free ride. So much for our own citizens on welfare!
Posted by: Greg | Dec 4, 2008 3:55:18 AM
A poor choice. Richardson has done nothing for New Mexico except move it up in the National standings for the most DWI per capita, and the most teen pregnancies per capita. As well as losing a few spots on the educational standings. New Mexico competes with some parts of Texas for having the most public education teachers with the most failures on their certification exams. It's also rapidly closing in on the highest ratio of government vs population.
And while we're at it, I certainly hope Obama doesn't try to model his proposed health care system on the VA's, which the Democrats are so proud of. It would be wise to fix that one first before trying out another one and winding up with two busted systems that will further drain the bank. The only ones who benefit now from public health are the undocumented citizens of other countries who have figured out how to make the U.S. systems work for them.
Posted by: Wade Moore | Dec 3, 2008 10:47:20 PM
Doesn't Richardson look befuddled in that picture? That's not an expression I want to see on the new secretary of commerce - especially these days!
Posted by: Happy Days R here again | Dec 3, 2008 3:32:37 PM
Considering that Gov. Richardson was the most qualified presidential candidate in the democratic primaries (although not very popular) and considering his extensive experience, this position does seem like a bit like a consolation prize. It's also hard to forget that Richardson was key to delivering the Hispanic vote for Obama and without him, Obama may not have been as successful in some states where Hispanics tend to vote Republican. I'm actually surprised that Richardson accepted this position.
Posted by: Another voter | Dec 3, 2008 3:29:28 PM
the comment above shows the myopic nature of special interest politics....this goes back to the old east coast....vote italian beacuse he's for/one of us...or vote irish becuase he's for us...very stupid.....Obama's not a quota-guy...he's an effectiveness guy...this voting for a presidential candidate so he'll put more of "our" people in power is dangerous. I would suspect the person above didn't vote Obama anyway.....Vote for a guy for what s/he'll do for the society of mankind and for America as a UNITED whole......plus keep in mind there are still quite of few positions left.....not to mention Supreme court appointments that will undoubtedly come for Latinos. By the way the logic of the person above seems to indicate that you have to be of a certain race in order to care for and about people of that race.
Posted by: Jonny Mac | Dec 3, 2008 3:28:41 PM
Richardson shaved!!??!! The beard was sexy!!
Posted by: NatFrankie | Dec 3, 2008 3:27:35 PM
Even more than 66 % of latinos voted for Obama, he like others USA political elite members, the president-elect does not value our potential and only search our votes when they need them. Where it is that hispanic group is the largest minority in USA?
Posted by: Ric | Dec 3, 2008 3:06:07 PM
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