(CNN) - Bill Richardson's withdrawal from his commerce secretary nomination Sunday didn't just leave a major gap in the new administration, but it also sorely disappointed Latinos who view the New Mexico governor as their most prominent representative.
"We are hugely disappointed. It's a stunned community out there," said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.
"He is a very well-recognized leader not just in the Latino community but in this country and he has a long record of public service," she said.
From CNN Politics
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steve where were you when Bush was in office? It amazes me how you people are quick to point a finger and criticize President-elect Obama when we have had crooks in the White House and Congress for decades and now that President-elect Obama is the 44th president there is nothing but criticism. Give him a chance; just see what happens. Afterall Obama has run the best campaign in history and I believe as president he will do as great as he did during the election. Give him an opportumity to make America better
Richardson is an ingrate who back stabbed Hillary Clinton. Serves him right.. traitor. he only thinks of himself and how things would benefit him
by bye judas is quite appropiate
This is a very big disappointment for me, and I am not a Latino. I had high hopes for,and from, Richerson. I hope he is eventually cleared of any wrong doing.
Poor JUDAS!
Carlos Mencia is a sexist pig.
Yeh, well. He did the right thing by withdrawing in the face of scandal. One less to stand for amnesty of the ILLEGAL brethren.
They are barely sworn in and already the Democrats are embroiled in corruption. Come on guys, we'll throw you out in 2010. For now, try to show some shred of ethics!
Obama and his team are showing very bad judgement with their selections for the new administration.
Latinos are not the only folks that are disappointed.
Empty people voted for an empty suit – If you think Obama is an empty suit than bush must be invisible. where have you been these last eight years as bush and the rethuglicans ruined our country. Obama has done more so far as president elect than your invisible man has done in 8 years.
@ Rick
When you're bashing you might want to try spell check next time.
You know, I am disappointed as well. Not only because the Gov but because he was one of the few Latinos in this Administration. I'm not saying that he should have every race or color in his Administration to show how diverse he is but the fact that Gov Richardson knows how to play the game, he paid his dues.
All I'm asking for anyone else who think they probably did nothing wrong or are in an investigation, to think what they are doing because people will find out but unfortunately, it seems like the truth is not always told nowadays...
I don't get it...
So everyone's complaining about Obama's stringent vetting?
The right-wing bloggers here and elsewhere have made it perfectly clear that no quarter will be given for the smallest of slip ups by Democrats. For crying out loud, you fools impeached the last one over lying about a stain on a dress! Of course the new administration is going to be careful.
So what is really the issue, guys?
That we're running a tighter ship than you did in the past eight years not from day one, but from T-60 days?
to IraqVet
I dont care what race the individual is, the bottomline is, we need quality men and women, regardless of political affiliations, race or gender. Right now, the political process does no help any GOOD men or women. It's too expensive. Like jay Leno said, Hillary and Obama both came up each with 200 million dollars to win over a 100K job. Glamorous...
Richardson is a good man. He's an angel next to W and Cheney and Halliburton officials.
If we are going to look under the hood, nobody will be qualify to RUN our government EXCEPT the priests and the nuns. Hey, how about the POPE for Prez.
Typical Democrats-Many of the people Obama has surrounded himself with have questionable ethics.
It really is scary to see how many uninformed – and completely IGNORANT people are out there! Obama has done nothing wrong – and as for Richardson, what happened to "Innocent until PROVEN Guilty"? Seems like all you sore loser republicans out there will take even the slightest whiff of a reason to blame Obama for everything – even BEFORE giving him a chance to prove himself! Those of you with less than a High School education........sit down and zip it! (Your doing a fine job of proving your lack of education)
I would hope Latinos would be more disappointed with the fact his administration is corrupt. Its getting that more and more groups will support anyone as long as he is the same color.
I am disappointed that Richardson has seemingly made poor choices and in doing so, now has had to give up his cabinet position. Though I am a huge advocate of promoting ethnic diversity in the world, and in this case the White House, I do not believe that Obama "owes" the Hispanic community anything.
The Hispanic community showed great support to get him elected, but so did African-Americans, Caucasians, etc. If he was filling Cabinet positions solely on someone's ethnicity, it would demonstrate immensely poor judgment and something he would simply not do.
Enough of this crap! I am latino and I voted for Obama (and would've done it a thousands times if given the chance!) not because I wanted him or expected him to appoint more latinos, blacks, or asians to high level positions in his administration, but because I expected him to appoint the right people for the job.
I am a big fan of Bill Richardson and I think he would've made a great Sec. of State. But Hillary was the right choice, not because she's a woman but because she is, I believe, the right person for the job at this time.
Let's stop whining! No mas!