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Much of the talk about Bill Richardson since he announced his candidacy has focused on his experience and competence. The positioning is meant to demonstrate how Bill Richardson has what Barack Obama lacks. Bill Richardson is a veteran political insider who has effectively held many posts, that cannot be questioned

I’m left wanting to know more. Capability is all well and good, but there are many people in American government with a lot of experience and successful records of service. Most of them will not ever be considered as candidates for President. I want to know what sets Bill Richardson apart. I want to know what Bill Richardson stands for. For what agenda does Bill Richardson want to apply his competence?

Back in 2003, Bill Richardson’s agenda seems to have been to help George W. Bush start a war in Iraq. In the weeks before the war, Richardson gave Democratic cover to President Bush’s belligerent push for war. In February 2003, being interviewed on CNN by Paula Zahn, Bill Richardson declared, “I think there is such intensive pressure on both sides that only one more deadline, only one more chance for Saddam Hussein is going to be allowable. So I think the administration is wise in pursuing this course that says OK, total disarmament in two weeks and that’s it.”

Bill Richardson would not entertain the doubts expressed by the millions of anti-war protesters in the street who were begging the government not to start a war. Bill Richardson didn’t mind the lack of evidence that Saddam Hussein actually had any weapons of mass destruction, much less the kind of arsenals that would threaten the security of the world, as the pro-war crowd was claiming. Bill Richardson didn’t lift a finger to try to stop the war from taking place. On the contrary, he added his voice to the voice of those cheering the prospect of war.

It’s not a surprise, really, considering Bill Richardson’s political allegiances. Bill Richardson is affiliated with the right wing Democratic Leadership Council. Just a few months after helping George W. Bush to start the Iraq War, Bill Richardson gave the keynote address at the Democratic Leadership Council. In his introduction of Richardson, right wing Democrat Will Marshall declared, “Bill Richardson is a long-time friend of the Democratic Leadership Council.” Marshall went on to praise Bill Richardson in that uniquely short-sighted manner of the DLC, citing as evidence of Richardson’s wisdom that “He backed a war to oust the Saddam regime.”

Bill Richardson went on to proudly say in his address that day that he was the “first DLC governor”. Is that the platform that Bill Richardson plans to use for his campaign for President? If so, Richardson will be fairly open to the criticism that he is from the Joseph Lieberman wing of the Democratic Party, that he’s the kind of Democrat who did not have the wisdom and the moral strength necessary to stand up to George W. Bush when it was most necessary. When America needed him to do the difficult thing, Bill Richardson took the easy way out, and joined the pro-war bandwagon.

Before I can even think about supporting Bill Richardson for President, I need to hear a full and honest explanation from Bill Richardson of why he helped George W. Bush start the war in Iraq, and why he thinks that we can trust his moral judgment in spite of that terrible betrayal. An apology isn’t enough. Bill Richardson needs to prove that he gets it, that he understands how serious a mistake he made.

Unfortunately, there isn’t even a hint that Bill Richardson is ready to have that difficult conversation with Democrats. On his campaign web site, there’s not a single sentence in which Bill Richardson admits that he was wrong.

Some say that we ought to leave Bill Richardson’s support for starting this unnecessary war in the past. I say that Bill Richardson’s decision to side with Bush and the pro-war camp in 2003 tells us a great deal about what kind of decisions he would make as President. Bill Richardson’s decision in 2003 tells me that he would make the wrong decision, that he would lead the country into a war similar to Iraq, if given the chance.

I don’t speak for everybody at Irregular Times. As for myself, though, I have to say that I’m not at all impressed with Bill Richardson.

Sorry, Mr. Richardson, but until you can explain to me why I should trust you not to screw up again, I’m not at all inclined to support your effort to gain the power of the Oval Office. Competence in the wrong direction is deadly.