WP - Political Blog: Richardson has emerged as a "serious contender" to head the Commerce Dept.

[sabra]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/11/richardson_to_commerce.html

Richardson to Commerce?

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as a "serious contender" to head the Commerce Department under President-elect Barack Obama, according to a Democratic official close to the proceedings.

Richardson was originally in the mix to be the secretary of State but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) is now expected be announced for that post after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The rumors of Richardson as the next head of the Commerce Department bring to a close a wild week in the transition of Obama from candidate to president. In the last seven days, a series of leading Cabinet picks have been revealed including Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to Homeland Security, former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle to Health and Human Services, Eric Holder to Justice and, last, but certainly not least, Clinton to State.

The idea of the erstwhile rivals putting the bad blood of the primary season behind them and throwing their lots in together on the world stage has dominated the media coverage of the Obama transition since it was revealed that late last week Clinton had traveled to Chicago to meet with the President-elect.