Chinese Americans and Bill Richardson

Richardson should definitely apologize.  He himself may not be racist, but he oversaw a racist witch-hunt.  Lee never spied.  He used an unsecure computer to access those nuclear files, which is against the rules, but there were many white guys who were doing the exact same thing, and they didn’t get charged.  Richardson needs to come clean.

I think this group is right to oppose his nomination.  I don’t think the Wen Ho Lee case indicates that Richardson would make a bad Commerce Secretary, but in this age of racial awareness, I think it’s right for him to apologize.

On a side note, I am also a realist.  Had Richardson apologized back in the day, he may not have become governor of New Mexico.  Had he not become governor, he wouldn’t have been set to run against Obama.  Had he not been in a position to endorse Obama after dropping out, Obama may have never won.  So like most issues in politics, this one is complex.  I can’t predict what an apology would do to either Richardson or the Obama administration.