Richardson's Draft Dodge
One of the more amusing signposts in NM Gov. Bill Richardson's career has been his contention, oft repeated and known to reporters and others familiar with his biography, that he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1967.
Turns out -- he wasn't. The Albuquerque Journal investigated and discovered that there's no evidence he was ever officially selected by the team.
The narrative of reporter Toby Smith's sleuthing fascinates.
Richardson was clearly a top prospect, and there is documentary proof that at least one publication at the time considered him "Drafted By K.C."
But he was never drafted.
So -- did this enthusiastic young baseball player misremember his past innocently?
The AP picked it up, ensuring widespread post-Thanksgiving play.
Needless to say -- not the best presidential clip.
This is minor league stuff. Nothing like blowing off National Guard duty or not serving at all. Richardson's a good man. If this is the best the repubs can do then it's not worth our time of day.
Better to not make the MLB draft than to avoid the military draft. Pathetic if the repubs make this an issue.
I'm frankly biased in favor of Dems in general, but this strikes me as not much of a story even if it were about a politician I detested (i.e. GWB). I'd have to know more before I could whip up even a shred of genuine outrage, and even then it would be pretty tepid. Has Richardson made a practice of claiming that he was "drafted" by Oakland/KC? He didn't make the claim in his autobiography, though his '82 campaign bio says he was. He says he has gone for thirty years believing that he was, indeed, drafted, and based on what the scouts appear to have told him at the time, he had some reason to believe that he either had been officially drafted or was going to be. I know enough about the draft process through my avid following of college basketball since 1966 to know that the draft process can be quite confusing, especially to young prospects. Even if Richardson has been making what turns out to be inaccurate claims about his draft status, it's entirely possible that he legitimately believed he was drafted by KC. Or that he had been told he would be drafted, but was never officially listed on the draft roster. There are many explanations, and anyone who wants to concoct a sordid tale of Richardson being a "serial liar" a la the Al Gore smears of 2000 should rethink their position.
I think this is a prime instance of splitting hairs, and deserves a big journalistic "so what?"
this will not reflect well - I will, however, say that even today it's often difficult to get exact information on who's drafted beyond the 1st round. It's only be a handful of years since even that was public.
In 68... it would have been almost all rumor and innuendo - of course to one would presumably have been contacted, gotten a letter, etc.... dunno. Pretty sloppy stuff - but there wouldn't be any sort of public record of this - and unless the team itself kept stuff, would be very hard to pin down. If a scout someplace told him "hey we're going to pick you" - and then he blew his arm... ah well.
A lie is a lie so quit trying to justify it. I'm a Democrat and I'm tired of liars in the White House (Bush AND Clinton) so if this eliminates a lying 2008 candidate, so be it. I'll take Russ Feingold, a Democrat who actually voted against the war, over a lying Richardson any day.
Frankly, Richardson hardly looks athletic. If he did it might make the draft story seem more plausible. I, too, lean toward Feingold at this early point.
Richardson lied about BASEBALL. GW Bush was a fighter pilot.
And people who are unfaithful to their marriage vows lie a lot. Guiliani, Clinton, Ginrich, Livingston, and Richardson are all in the same boat there.
Never trust a serial adulterer. Their judgement is so flawed that they will trade all their integrity, all their goals for a few minutes of good phone, and a few minutes of bad sex.