LETTER

Last updated 1-8-09 at 3:11 p.m.

Richardson’s withdrawal erases nothing

To the Editor:

I have been among those that objected to the nomination of Gov. Bill Richardson as the next secretary of commerce. Richardson’s recent withdrawal from his nomination as the next commerce secretary is due to ongoing grand jury investigation of possible corruption related to political campaign contribution.

I feel neither elation nor sadness over this outcome. It is a development over which I have no basis to pass judgment.
President-elect Obama publicly acknowledged and thanked Richardson for putting the nation’s interest ahead of his own by withdrawing from nomination. So be it.

I am among those that continue to believe that it would be in our nation’s interest for Gov. Richardson to acknowledge the error of his conduct and apologize to Dr. Wen Ho Lee and the Asian community for racial profiling and violation of judicial due process.

Thus, if the current investigation absolves Richardson and in the future he is again considered for positions of public service, at least his action that offended the Asian American community need not be revisited again.

— Dr. George Koo, San Jose, Calif.

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