Department of Redundancy Department

This just in: Bill Richardson is running for president.

The BR4P campaign just officially announced there will be an official announcement by the governor on Monday to officially announce his candidacy, officially. Fare thee well, presidential exploratory committee. We hardly knew yee.

As far as official announcements go, this ranks up there with declaring that the sky is blue, water is wet and Tara Reid is drunk. In other words, not surprising. After all, it's not like Big Bill was going to spend months of campaigning just to yell "Psych!" and fold up his tent, renounce his citizenship and live out his years as a sheep herder in Uruguay (although I hear Uruguayan shepherds do quite well).

What is a little suprising is the locale of his announcement. Richardson will officially throw his hat into the ring at 11 am (NM time) at the Los Angeles Press Club in, you guessed it, Los Angeles. It's no secret that California could conceivably reap huge electoral dividends for Richardson and, admittedly, he has to get some high-profile pub outside of New Mexico to be taken seriously as a national candidate. But don't be fooled by the well-tanned SoCal press corps, governor. Beneath those white veneers lurks rampant gingivitis of the soul.

Feeling slighted? Perhaps. A little jaded that we don't even have a Press Club? Maybe. But at least we didn't kill Biggie Smalls.