A story that Bill Richardson tells on the campaign trail is now causing some trouble for him. In a widely distributed news story, Bill Richardson has been accused of misrepresenting a meeting with a mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. According to the Washington Post "As he campaigns for the Democratic nomination, the New Mexico governor often recounts an emotional conversation with [Lance Cpl. Aaron]Austin's mother, saying she thanked him for the federal death benefits she had received and even showed him the government check."
According to the same story, the mother, "De'on Miller, of Lovington, N.M., who says the conversation about money never took place. I didn't exchange words at all with the governor there except when he gave me the flag. And those few words _ whatever was exchanged when he handed me the flag and the Spirit of New Mexico award _ certainly had nothing to do with money," she said Thursday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press."
Richardson insists the conversation about money occurred.
As the field of Democrats is deep and wide, look for more stories like these to come out. Playing loose with the truth can kill a campaign very quickly. Whether it is a hatchet job or not remains to be seen, as Miller is a registered Republican.
And, as we have seen in the latest Des Moines Register poll, Richardson popularity, while still relatively low, is rising steadily. Richardson's assent can't be good news for the "top-tier" candidates who have a lot of reasons to quietly celebrate a trip of the tongue.
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