Regular readers will no doubt know that we endorsed General Wesley Clark for the Democratic Presidential nomination in early 2004, and nothing that we have seen in the intervening two years has done anything to change our minds for 2008. That said, there are some promising candidates who have hinted at running, certainly a better field than last time. One of the most intriguing of the possible candidates is former Clinton Energy Secretary and current New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. This is not good news:

For nearly four decades, Richardson…has maintained he was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics.

But an investigation by the Albuquerque Journal found no record of Richardson being drafted by the A’s, who moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Oakland, California, after the 1967 season, or any other team. Informed by the newspaper of its findings, the governor acknowledged the error in a story in Thursday’s editions.

“After being notified of the situation and after researching the matter … I came to the conclusion that I was not drafted by the A’s,” Richardson said. He said he had believed it was true based on an old program from an amateur team he had played for in Massachusetts.

Obviously in the order of sins, this is quite minor. But in the political reality dictated and illustrated by the 2004 Presidential campaign, this example of resume padding should disqualify Richardson from consideration in the Democratic primaries. The Democratic party simply can not afford to defend its nominee against charges of dishonesty in the heat of a campaign. We face enough obstacles, inviting one more is out of the question.