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Umh. Sure Bill.
Bill Richardson has made quite some verbal mistakes the last couple of weeks. He has given some – among them yours truly – that he might be just as talented as George W. Bush in expressing himself. Today it seems that Bill Richardson made another idiotic comment; according to the (former) Governor of New Mexico God wants Iowa to be the first state in the primaries.
That’s right.
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19 Responses to “Umh. Sure Bill.”
That is a really stupid thing to say, good grief. I still think he’s far ahead of Bush in terms of brains, but not so far ahead in mouth.
Richardson was clearly joking when he said it.
For the benefit of those who didn’t realize what should have been obvious, a campaign spokesman has verified it was a joke.
I think at this point in the election process, Bill Richardson is running for a cabinet position – probably Secretary of Defense or Homeland Security. And he’d probably be great at either job as long as he had someone else scripting his public addresses.
Well, I’ll have to see video of the comment. Just because his spokeman said it was a joke doesn’t mean it was. One of the easiest ways to cover for a gaffe is to play it off like that.
I’m with Sam.
I agree that sometimes gaffes are later said to have been jokes, but in this case I have a hard time believing he meant it in any other way. Why in the world would he say that seriously? It’s a pretty dumb joke (a botched joke, one might say) but still seems to me that it probably was one.
[...] Clark Umh. Sure Bill. » This Summary is from an article posted at The Moderate Voice » Domestic and international news [...]
Christine, read Ed Morrissey’s post. I sincerely doubt it was a joke. Not saying I am 100% sure, but one surely gets the impression it was not.
Well, I still don’t see it. His defense of the comment seemed more like defense of the position itself, that Iowa should be first- not defense of the invocation of God’s will into it. So I don’t see how that proves or disproves that he added that line as a joke, and I don’t get why anyone would seriously use that as a reason for Iowa’s primary date.
I do think there’s a double standard between the way this would have played out if a GOP candidate had said it, but in this case when I apply a neutral standard I still come up with it being a joke- that’s just my take on it though.
Whether it was a joke or a gaffe, it certainly was an inane comment. Richardson despite his experience seems to be a bit of a klutz on the campaign trail. He seems to think slow on his feet, and sometimes ends up with his foot in his mouth.
If he was serious, it means that he was pandering to the crowd, which will not help him with Democrats outside of Iowa. Furthermore, I personally would not vote for a politician who claims he knows what God’s will is.
[...] comments around the blogosphere it appears some bloggers did not realize this. (Returning later, some bloggers prefer to continue attacking when they think there is blood and continue to claim that Richardson [...]
It sounded like a joke even before his spokesman verified this. It is typical of the type of humor he has used in other circumstances. Nobody would really think that God has any interest in the order of our caucuses and primaries, and anyone with any knowledge of the Constitution would realize that the mechanics of partisan politics are not included.
There is nothing in Ed Morrissey’s post which suggests any different and it appears more like an attempt to make a member of the opposing party look dumb than to get at the truth. The quotation from Richardson at the end of his post does not mean he was not joking about the matter earlier and now responding in a more serious manner.
The real problem for Richardson is that the joke can be taken as making fun of the whole primary/caucus situation or making fun of Iowa’s desrie to be first. While he intended the first, there is risk that Iowans will see it as the second.
I’d have to chalk this up to many people having little or no exposure to the good Governor.
Because anyone who had spent time listening to him would have no doubt the comment was tongue in cheek.
Ron – let it go.
So much for promoting commentary eh? Ron is addressing the substance of the post, not hurling personal insults and offering additional information not presented in the post.
I think you are a bit too dismisive of him MVG.
I agree – obviously a joke.
This is what makes it so hard for politicians to come across as ‘real’ people, and why they have to rely on a horde of handlers and speech writers.
Geez Austin!
Just when I have you pegged, I have to decide if you’re in Austin.
If so, I need to buy you a nice dinner the next time I’m at the Driscoll.
But seriously, I think in this case you’re right.
But then, judging politics from 4,000 miles away is a tricky business.
II thought he was spoofing some of the sanctimonious comments cropping up of late, and I wondered at his daring to do it.
I’m considering treating all of politics as a bad joke in order to survive this endless election season.
Davbo -LOL
And yes, my moniker is not very creative or designed to hide my identity or location. Yes, I do live in Austin.
And if you do make it out here, I am partial to Fonda San Miguel.