Layover

The Guv took last weekend off. After stops in NYC and DC yesterday and today, Richardson will have another day of rest tomorrow. Good for him. The man has been running ragged for months now. But it might not be a mere coincidence that he chose this week to take a breather.

It's been a rough month for BR4P. First was Meet The Press. Then the presidential debate. In the interim, Richardson sold off his oil stocks and agreed to stop name-dropping dead Marines for political gain. But he's taken another hit with this story in the current issue of The New Republic.

TNR writer Ryan Lizza basically nails Richardson to the wall. Not necessarily in any sort of malicious way. Just surgical. Granted, Lizza tossed in some gratuitious snark ("frat-boy-in-chief," etc.) and probably humped the scalp-tickling and hot dogs a bit much. I also don't think I've ever heard anyone in New Mexico call Richardson "Govzilla" (although it does have a nice ring to it). But the story did dissect The Guv's weaknesses along with exposing the kinks in the armor Richardson's built around his resume platform. And that "they're all called Kim" comment about North Koreans isn't going to win Richardson the Asian American Association endorsement.

Then again, there's something to be said about the Everyman candidate, whether such posturing is scripted or genuine. The TNR story isn't exactly one for the BR4P scrapbook, but it does portray him as an oddly endearing political oddity as much as it does a clueless, conniving opportunist.

After all, certain segments of the electorate love to see guys like Bill Clinton wolfing down fries at Mickey D's or Bill Richardson tossing F-bombs while he tears through a hot dog at the ballpark. But, luckily for Big Bill, most of those folks probably don't subscribe to TNR.