His cushy Cabinet post yanked out from underneath him, Bill Richardson is heading home to the state that made him a national player, reports the New York Times. And while New Mexico might be a let-down for Richardson, (“Sometimes your own dreams and plans must take a back seat to what is best for the nation,” he says) not everyone is happy to see him ride back into town either.
"We’ve all written a lot of stories about pay-to-play, and none of them have stuck," says one local journo, who calls Richardson the "Teflon Governor." Political opponents are less than thrilled to welcome back the "bully": “Everyone was thinking he’d be gone. It is what it is,” says the state Senate majority leader. But to others, he's getting a taste of their pain: “He’s been laid off. Like half the population," says one out-of-work veterinarian. (More Bill Richardson stories.)