Just like with Ted Kennedy; Richardson said his phone conversation with Clinton got 'Heated'

[TeamJordan23]

I remember Ted Kennedy got into a heated phone call with Bill before endorsing Obama

RICHARDSON SAYS CLINTON PHONE CALL GOT 'HEATED'

From NBC's Lee Cowan

PORTLAND -- Bill Richardson described the conversation he had with Hillary Clinton on his decision to endorse Barack Obama as "heated" in an exclusive with NBC Nightly News today.

Both Richardson and Obama shared the spotlight this afternoon at a press conference and later in a sit down interview with NBC's Lee Cowan. (Please insert link to NN spot)

Richardson described the conversation that he had with Clinton last night "tough."

"It was tough to make the call, but I did. It got a little heated. It got a little tense. But it was understood, and I'm proud of my decision."

He stressed that his decision to endorse Obama came a week before, but it was reinforced by the speech Obama gave on race last Tuesday. He cited his own racial background as a Hispanic to underscore why the speech was so significant.

"I'm a Hispanic and I felt that what he said about being a nation of what all of us being together really clenched it," he said.

Calling for unity, Richardson claimed that Democrats would be "wounded" if the drawn out battle between Clinton and Obama continued.

"We have a man who's won many, many primaries. Who's won the most primaries and delegates. Who's unifying the party and the country. Senator Clinton has run a great race, I'm not saying she should withdraw that's her decision. But we can't be wounded heading into Denver and the Democratic convention with negative campaigning. And this campaign has gotten too negative," he said.

"But I do so now just with enormous enthusiasm but enormous respect. I believe that Senator Obama is going to be the nomnee. I'm not asking anybody to get out of the race, but I believe it's time to get behind a nominee who can win," Richardson said.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/21/795679.aspx

[dchill]

1. Way to go Bill - now...

Joe Biden, it's your turn.

[Muttocracy]

64. I am going to be really interested to hear from Biden

He gave Obama's speech on race big praise. Haven't heard his reaction to other speeches on Iraq this week (and haven't had time to listen to them myself yet).

I do remember a quote from Jill Biden - she is not a Hillary fan...

[LordJFT]

2. sounds like he's jumping on the bandwagon

he's welcome though of course

[dkf]

3. Damn she sounds unpleasant.

I bet anyone who called Obama to tell him this sort of thing was treated much better.

[99th_Monkey]

33. Which makes Richardson's endorsement much more meaningful

since he had to face the wrath of Hillary to do so, rather than the graciousness with which I know Obama would
show under the same circumstances, which is precisely the reason (or at least one of the main reasons) why I'm
supporting Obama.

Anyone who can't even be gracious with "their own people", doesn't have a prayer of uniting this diverse nation.

[anamandujano]

78. The reason the two big babies Kennedy and Richardson mentioned

the call to Hillary is to help Obama spread his manure that Hillary is unpleasant.
Are we to believe she yelled at them? :scared:
Did she make the big strong men :cry: ?

[Medusa]

84. Rumor???????????????

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


Her own STAFF are afraid to tell her shit. Please, get a grip on the REAL Hillary why don't you? She ain't sweetness and light by any stretch of the imagination.

[still_one]

4. I would bet anything if the tables were reversed, Obama would not behave the same way

This is typical of the Clinton's style of arrogance

[lapfog_1]

5. I have a feeling that if we had a recording of that phone call

the race would be over today.

If it were me on the other end of that phone call with Richardson, it would be

"Hello"

"Oh hi Bill"

"Really, you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Well, I understand it was a tough decision for you... and I can't hide the fact that I'm disappointed, but if that's the way you feel about it..."

"Ok, Bill, best to your wife... take care... Goodbye now"

But I have a feeling that's NOT how the conversation went... not at all.

[hogwyld]

9. Something like this perhaps?

Bill Richardson: Hi Hillary
HRC: Oh, hi Bill! How are you doing?
BR: I'm fine, thanks for asking.
HRC: What can I do for you?
BR: I just wanted to call you first and let you know that I'm going to endorse Barack
HRC: You ungrateful M$#$#^^&$$ F*$%#$T@$
BR: Please, don't take it personal
HRC: You're going to rot in hell you @$^#&%^&# *($%^#$%!
HRC: @!$%@$#%^ 143@%#^#$%&# (^*%&(%^#%$R!!!!!!!!!!

[lapfog_1]

14. I'm sure it was nothing that short or nice

probably a lot of threats and personal insults as well as foul language.

[Mme. Defarge]

74. Not to mention the predictable

guilt trip -- to use a '70's phase.

[ima_sinnic]

43. LOL!

except there were probably either threats or attempts at bribery before the real cursing began. something tells me Edwards could do a good impersonation of her "tactics" . . . just a personal theory, of course.

[JVS]

10. Isn't it illegal to record people without consent?

Where's Linda Tripp when you need her, huh?

[WillyT]

6. And Lest We Forget...

<snip>

CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) — Former presidential candidate and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama today with a call for the party "to come together," warning Democrats were in "danger" of damaging the party with a divisive campaign.

At a Cleveland press conference with Obama, Dodd denied he was implying Sen. Hillary Clinton should drop out, but merely suggesting that both campaigns watch their tone over the next week leading up to the critical Ohio and Texas contests.

Dodd said he informed Clinton last night of his decision to endorse Obama, adding that it was "not a comfortable" discussion.

<snip>

Link: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/26/dodd-de... /

Hmm...

:shrug:

[leftstreet]

18. Her former campaign manager was "afraid" to tell her they were broke

Clinton fired her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, who was reportedly afraid to tell her boss the bad news about the squandered money. Lesson one for organizational disaster: A boss whose subordinates are scared to give her bad news. See Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam for what can happen.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080222/cm_thenation/45289222

[Muttocracy]

66. now that you mention that, I worked for someone like that... and I quit! nt

[Thickasabrick]

87. It reminded me more of what Martha Stewart's employees said

about her.

[ginnyinWI]

49. Each time one of these guys endorses

I get the impression that they are really relieved and overjoyed to have come to the decision that they have.

Richardson looked genuinely happy, like he'd just some through some darkness into the light. Like he has been set free. Same with Dodd and the others who have come on board. Kennedy. Kerry. Real enthusiasm that I haven't seen in high-profile HRC supporters.

I get the impression that Obama is a really nice guy, easy to be around, decent and talented. Just from seeing how people interact with him.

[KittyWampus]

72. it's like getting the monkey off their back.

[Mme. Defarge]

75. "The truth shall set you free", n/t

[better tomorrow]

7. He was just mad because the email went out at 3 am...

and he probably had to answer the durn phone......

[w13rd0]

19. Dang...

...you stole my line :)

I was going to say something about the call being at 3am. So is this "animosity" over people refusing to crown her the inevitable victor a trickle down thing? Dodd, Richardson, Kennedy, all have described the complimentary call to the Clintons as "heated", "rough", "uncomfortable".

[AgadorSparticus]

8. "....a nominee who can win".....aaaaaah, sweet words to my ears!!

[blonndee]

11. I think this says a lot about Clinton and what party leaders are saying/thinking about her right now

In a clean race, as I have suggested earlier here, it's hard for me to imagine that entrenched, well-respected Democrats would just willy-nilly dismiss Clinton or even try to make her look bad (I think they have a great deal more party loyalty than she does). That's why when Dodd and Kennedy and Richardson say things like "uncomfortable" and "not pleasant" and "heated" that I think that the phone conversations were actually EXTREMELY nasty. If she reacted in a normal way,and if party leaders supported her to any degree, I would expect them to say something like "It was a difficult conversation, but Senator Clinton showed the grace and understanding for which I've always known her." NO ONE has said that, and I think it shows, really, that no one actually would expect that from her, and that she has lived up to their non-expectations.

[Darth_Kitten]

53. It just shows how people are ready to always go the politically correct route.

this says nothing about Clinton, and more about Richardson. His loss.

[PerfectSage]

12. I wonder how Heated is 'Heated'?

If politics is a continuation of war by other means; Obama is a grand strategic artist. In modern warfare there are 4 generations. The US military is still stuck on 2nd. My sneaking suspicion is that Obama has taken politics to the next generation. He is out OODA looping the Clintons. :applause:

[better tomorrow]

13. Bill probably asked him to reimburse the Super Bowl ticket.....

and he said "No."

[davidinalameda]

15. Richardson had to grow that beard

to cover up the scar tissue left by that "heated" call

Richardson's phone melted

that's how "heated"

the temperature shot up about 20 degrees in the New Mexico desert

that's how "heated"

Hillary showed up on infrared radar

that's how "heated"

[anamandujano]

85. He's had the beard since he dropped out of the race. It's to cover his sour puss.

He always looks like he sucking on a lemon. I seriously doubt Obama offered him the Veep spot.

I'll bet he pressured Hillary and when she said no, he settled for nothing, except a few more hours of TV time.

[CarbonDate]

26. Richardson is a diplomat.

Diplomacy is the art of understatement, so we can reasonably posit that "heated" and "not comfortable" (Dodd) were both understatements.

[Muttocracy]

68. yes, I was surprised they even said that much, makes me think... nt

[Mme. Defarge]

76. Is this why Edwards

is dragging his feet?

[ClayZ]

16. With any luck, one of those wiretappers got it recorded!

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

17. That must have been a hard call to make.

I hope Richardson gets the credit he deserves.

[saltpoint]

50. Agree on both counts.

:thumbsup:

[EFerrari]

70. It's a SNL skit waiting to be written.

Governor Richardson on Line 1 for the President.

I'll take it in the den . . . .

:scared:

[LulaMay]

20. Nice of them. They would never say such things about a male candidate. They have their own agendas

Richardson wants to be VP.


Kennedy wants to remain King of the Dynasty, not have the Kennedy name usurped by the Clinton name.

He was angry about Hillary mentioning LBJ signing civil rights law, when he considers it his brothers legacy.


They are back-stabbing "friends" to treat a viable candidate like this. When has this happened before?

The NERVE of Richardson talking down to Senator Clinton, saying it was 'heated' and trying to tell her what to do. He wouldn't have done it to a male candidate, no way.

[anonymous171]

22. Hell yeah they would.

lol @ the rest of your accusations. :rofl:

[lligrd]

23. You Are Looking More And More Ridiculous

Please quit while you are behind before you become an even bigger behind.

[LulaMay]

34. To people like you... who cares? You believe you can DEMAND this nomination, no matter who you hurt

[lligrd]

36. Would You Vote For Obama If He Had A Vagina?

For the record, I believe you are a nutcase.

[anamandujano]

80. Richardson endorsed him because he has a penis. So did Kennedy and

Kerry.

[cali]

37. Really? And what slam do you have for Pat Leahy who

endorsed Obama fairly early?

[Binka]

42. Wow The Nerve Of Richardson Having An Opinion!

The very fucking nerve of nerve! How dare he think for himself and call Hillary to tell what he thinks. The nerve! Now thinking and acting on that thought is very NERVY! How the fuck does that translate into "talking down" to Hillary? And how the fuck is saying the conversation was "heated" be construed as telling her what to do?

But let us continue with the NERVE thing. God Damn Bill Richardson for saying this. He MUST not think for himself or have an opinion that doesn't align itself with the universe of Hillary. That rat bastard, he got a load of shit from Hillary and crew but he should be ashamed because, well, because, WAH WAH WAH, she calls the shots. Didn't he get the GD memo? Hillary worked overtime at NARCISSIST University to be able to pull this bullshit card from her ass. How dare Richardson cut off her supply by telling her how HE feels and what HE believes.

Throwing Kennedy and LBJ into the mix just makes so much sense. The NERVE of those bastards as well! Hillary is stomping her feet for Gawds sake. Can't you hear the boots of the Narcissist? She DEMANDS respect.

Fucking Richardson. The fool. What NERVE! He wouldn't do that to a male candidate! He should just roll over and let Hillary piss all over him. That will show the males how it is done.

The nerve for not supporting her, and for making a public declaration for Obama. Jesus Richardson have you no shame? You and your beard are dead to me! STOMP! STOMP!

:sarcasm:

LULU you need a martini and a romp in the sack. Might take the edge off.

[ima_sinnic]

44. ROFLMAO! good one!

:thumbsup: :yourock: :hi:

[Binka]

45. Hey Baby How Goes It?

Good to see you. Thanks for the props, this fucking idiot is beyond the beyond.

[ima_sinnic]

46. hey! "cleaning house"--I took a clue from you and have been squelching vermin

good thread here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5194028

[KittyWampus]

73. Holy crap, that was one of the most amusing rants I've ever read.

[anamandujano]

79. I suspect he told her that if she didn't make him an offer he

was going to endorse the empty suit.

I doubt he'll get anything from Obama. Maybe he can get a talk show.

[AZBlue]

90. Oh stop. You're the only one crying about gender in this discussion.

As usual. It's really old - and totally irrelevant.

[lligrd]

21. Richardson Is A Class Act,

no denying that. I thank him for that.

[krawhitham]

24. I can understand her being pissed at Richardson, but

The Clintons feel the made Richardson what he is, but she had no right going off on Teddy or Dodd, they owned her nothing

[Fredda Weinberg]

25. Richardson feels the need to mention he's Hispanic? I'm afraid that

says it all. So much for your transcendent campaign.

[anonymous171]

27. Is he part of the Obama campaign?

And it doesn't say it all. Clinton supporters don't have much room to talk when denouncing identity politics.

[w13rd0]

31. Are you serious?

With all the vilification that the right-wing has been heaping upon Hispanics, you don't think a message of unity would appeal to a Hispanic person? It doesn't even seem like you fantasy-based Hillary supporters even think before you type anymore. You open your mouths to just spew forth bullshit. "So much for your transcendent campaign"...

Because he stated he is Hispanic.

[lligrd]

41. Something Tells Me That If He Endorsed Hillary You'd

be espousing the fact that he was Hispanic. Yet, if he was female you wouldn't have mentioned it.

[XemaSab]

28. I'm reminded of two scenarios: getting laid off and getting dumped

and there's a right way and a wrong way to handle both of those. The right way is to suck it up and say "Wow, I'm sorry you feel that way, but if that's your decision, so be it." The wrong way is to argue about it.

"Heated" implies an argument, and somehow I don't think Bill Richardson was the one starting it.

Yeah, I have the feeling we're going to be reading a tell-all book about the HRC campaign about two years from now with an explicit definition of the word "heated."

[splat]

29. He's gonna groan when Hillary is nominated and he picked the wrong horse

[better tomorrow]

30. I'm sorry but that reminded me of this....

[CatnHat]

39. Richardson and Edwards

are politicians first, and friends second, they are both looking out for themselves. That's politics. Ten to one, Obama cut a dea with Richardson, probably looking at VP slot; talk about the "identity" ticket. Give me a break!!! . . and all that talk about the transcending "candidate" . . Looks like the Obama campaign is doing a 180.

[99th_Monkey]

32. Graciousness is not in the Clintons lexicon these daze, unfortunately. ~nt~

[Darth_Kitten]

54. Graciousness is not turning on a "friend" and making it public.....

Too bad people don't know what the word gracious means anymore.

[McCamy Taylor]

35. I admire Bill Richardson. I admire Joe Wilson, too. The people posting nice things here

about Bill Richardson, would you please go to the Joe Wilson thread and post something nice about Wilson just to remind the world that Democrats have not forgotten that he stuck his neck out after the invasion of Iraq telling the world that there was no effort to buy uranium, it was all a pack of lies---and that his family suffered for it. But he refused to back down and as a result, the Bush administration faced the closest thing to Watergate that they will probably ever face and we got a Democratic congress since their poll numbers got so low (in large part thanks to the Scooter Libby Trial and Plamegate and the WMD story that finally came out).

I think that DU should honor Wilson and not call him the rude names that they are calling him in that thread. He is a good man and I will bet that Richardson would be sad to read some of the things that people here have posted about him.

[dansolo]

59. Bill Richardson didn't attack Hillary personally

Joe Wilson is an ass, and my opinion of him dropped dramatically based on his wild mis-characterizations of Obama.

[crankychatter]

38. Richardson did the honorable thing

Clinton hates it when people do that

[Tellurian]

40. You mean you're going to do the honorable thing and apologize

to Clinton supporters and the Clintons for accusing them of responsibility for Passportgate?

[tekisui]

47. Dodd said it was unpleasant.

[Muttocracy]

63. yeah, I'm trying to remember just what he said nt

[Cass]

48. I like Richardson but publicizing this about a supposed friend is

kind of low. As a friend, his endorsement of her opponent was bad enough but to discuss the details like this publicly isn't cool. A real friend wouldn't humiliate a friend publicly, but I suppose that's politics.

[Darth_Kitten]

52. True.

n/t

[anamandujano]

81. He is now lower than a slug in my book.

[Darth_Kitten]

51. Well, when you make a call to endorse somebody based only on race...

what do you expect? :shrug:

[stillcool]

56. Do you think ..

or want race to be the only factor in this election? I know the Clinton Campaign wants it to be so, but do you as well?

[Seabiscuit]

58. Richardson has revealed himself as a shallow fool.

[Bensthename]

55. Superdelegates are Hillaries last hope. She knows Richardson leaving opens the door for more to lea

ve

[LizW]

57. Why would he share that?

Richardson has every right to endorse the Democrat of his choice, but why would he feel it necessary to disparage her after the deed is done?

He's like a man who would break up with a lover and then go out and tell all his friends that she cried and begged him not to go. A final slap as he goes out the door.

Of course, I know the answer. He's made an endorsement, so he now has a personal stake in the outcome. He has to make sure he's on the winning team, and if it means joining in the slime and personal attacks, so be it.

I hope he's just as willing to get down in the slime against McCain, and doesn't suddenly develop a "bipartisan spirit" in the general election.

[Levgreee]

60. Or maybe Hillary was disrespectful to him so he needed to get his frustration out?

I guess Hillary can beat up on and yell at her "friends" as she wants, and they should just take it.

If Hillary doesn't show respect she shouldn't expect perfect respect in return.

[LizW]

62. I don't see Richardson as a WATB.

And even if he was, why would he advertise it? If he got his feelings all hurted by something Hillary said, I would think he would handle it with her, and not run to the media to tell what a meanie she was.

It makes much more sense that he saw an opportunity to make her look bad, and he took it. It's okay. He chose sides, and she's the enemy now. It's his job to take her down, and he did what he could.

[anamandujano]

82. He was helping Obama with his bitch meme, like Kennedy did.

[UALRBSofL]

61. At this point Richardson has no credibility

After throwing Hillary under the bus. Let me stab you in the back because I'm going with Obama because he looks like he has a better chance to win the nomination. Richardson doesn't care that Hillary would make a great president, would bring americans together, would get everyone out of poverty. I see Richardson as a fair weathered person. The grass looks greener on the other side. Sad, very sad.

[anonymous171]

67. Man that's nice. Totally disrespect the man for not obeying his Master, Hillary.

I can see how the Clinton dynasty would fair in the whitehouse.

[ClayZ]

65. K and R

[DrFunkenstein]

69. The Super Delegates Fear Revenge From The Clintons (Like Bushies)

Everyone knows that the Clintons are vindictive and will destroy anyone who crosses them. They even blasted some fundraisers who dared to hold events for BOTH candidates. The Clintons play nasty. I suppose you could spin that as making them "tough" and "formidable," but I think it just makes them nasty.

Kudos to Richardson for withstanding the "heat."

[LuckyLib]

71. If she's going to respond in that way, perhaps other pols should just announce their endorsement of

Barack, letting her hear the news with the rest of the public. Screw her.

[Aussie leftie]

77. In my opinion

I think that Richardson could see the writing on the wall and now realizes that Obama is going to be the nominee. He obviously is looking for a "seat at the table" if there is a President Obama.

If Hillary was "heated" with him during the phone call, I would not blame her in the least. She has been winning the Hispanic vote and she sincerely believed she had an ally in him.

Richardson said that Obama is "unifying the party". I don't see that on this discussion board.

[anamandujano]

83. No one would even know his name if not for Bill Clinton.

[Aussie leftie]

86. Maybe Hillary didn't guarantee him the positions or similar that he held under Bill's presidency.

So he jumped ship.

[Thickasabrick]

88. I really can't believe you just said that - oh, the irony.

[high density]

89. You could say that about any Obama endorsement at this point...

That they see the "writing on the wall." This is along the same lines of what Mark Penn said when he told us the endorsement didn't matter because it was post-Texas. I think it mattered more that Obama not lose this endorsement to Clinton rather than him actually gaining it.

For Richardson to do this it took a lot more than "writing on the wall." This was a guy who was quite aligned and allied with the Clintons until very recently. If his support for Obama is as superficial as you say it is, I don't think he would've bothered to endorse anyone at all.