Richardson to Commerce

Barack Obama has officially appointed New Mexico governor and former presidential rival Bill Richardson to be his secretary of commerce. “There are some who speak of a team of rivals, but I've never seen it that way. Past competitors? Yes. But rivals implies something harder-edged and less forgiving. And in the worlds of diplomacy and commerce, you open markets and minds not with rivalry, but instead with partnership and innovation and hard work," Richardson said. Obama said Richardson would be a “key strategist” in the White House and that “the notion that somehow the commerce secretary is not going to be central to everything we do is fundamentally mistaken.” As commerce secretary, Richardson will help attract jobs and businesses to the U.S.