This morning Bill Richardson, a longtime friend of Bill Clinton who rushed to defend Hillary Clinton when she was attacked in the early Democratic debates, threw his endorsement behind Barack Obama. Richardson (or as MSNBC oddly referred to him in their subhead, “Hispanic Governor”) was being courted aggressively by both campaigns, though he told the NYT that while he felt “a great deal of personal loyalty to the Clintons,” he was “genuinely torn.”
What we wouldn’t have given to listen to those phone calls.
Update: Those phone calls apparently got pretty testy.
“I talked to Senator Clinton last night,” Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico said on Friday, describing the tense telephone call in which he informed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton that, despite two months of personal entreaties by her and her husband, he would be endorsing Senator Barack Obama for president.
“Let me tell you: we’ve had better conversations,” Mr. Richardson said. …
Mr. Richardson said he called Mrs. Clinton late on Thursday to inform her that he would be appearing with Mr. Obama on Friday to lend his support.
“It was cordial, but a little heated,” Mr. Richardson said in an interview.