I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
It may have been the only sour note in Wednesday’s press conference announcing Gov. Bill Richardson as President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. commerce secretary nominee.
Does Richardson’s nomination as commerce secretary amount to a “consolation prize” for the nation’s Latinos and Hispanics, a reporter asked.
“It seems many were expecting, hoping that Bill Richardson was going to be secretary of state,” the unidentified reporter continued.
It was a striking tableau — the nation’s first African-American president being quizzed about the diversity of his Cabinet.
It is no secret that some Hispanic groups had lobbied for Richardson to win the secretary of state post. But President-elect Obama responded with a lengthy answer in which he stressed the importance of the nation’s commerce secretary and how Richardson as commerce secretary would fit centrally into the president-elect’s mission.
The president-elect also said that once he has appointed his Cabinet and his White House staff, many would be impressed by how diverse it was.
Here is President-elect Obama’s answer to the reporter’s question:
“Commerce secretary is a pretty good job. 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 this job and is going to be outstanding in helping me strategize on how do we rebuild America, how do we get businesses moving, how do we export effectively, how do we open up new markets for American products and services.
“His mixture of diplomatic experience, hands-on experience as a governor, experience in the Cabinet, experience in Congress means that he is going to be a key strategist on all the issues we work on.
“I think the notion that somehow the commerce secretary is not going to be central to everything we do is fundamentally mistaken. With respect to Latino Cabinet members, I’ve appointed about half of my Cabinet so far. And I think that when people look back and see the entire slate what they will say not only in terms of my Cabinet, 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. But more importantly, they will say these are all people of outstanding qualifications and excellence. So one of the strong beliefs that I’ve always held and has been 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.”
As a side note, a Latino with New Mexico connections already has been named to Obama’s White House staff: Louis Caldera. Caldera once served as president of University of New Mexico and is still on staff as a law professor.
