Richardson's Response

Bill Richardson defends his endorsement of Barack Obama in a Washington Post op-ed, and reponds to criticism from James Carville that he is being disloyal.

"While I certainly will not stoop to the low level of Mr. Carville, I feel compelled to defend myself against character assassination and baseless allegations."

Carville, a commentator on CNN, called Richardson a "Judas" for choosing Obama rather than Hillary Clinton. Or, he says, he could have merely stayed on the sidelines.

But Richardson says that Carville's notions of loyalty don't make sense.

Richardson writes, "Carville and others say that I owe President Clinton's wife my endorsement because he gave me two jobs. Would someone who worked for Carville then owe his wife, Mary Matalin, similar loyalty in her professional pursuits? Do the people now attacking me recall that I ran for president, albeit unsuccessfully, against Sen. Clinton? Was that also an act of disloyalty?"