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New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) fought back against Republican charges that Barack Obama is a substanceless celebrity and questioned Sen. John McCain’s reputation as a maverick. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, Richardson said the GOP is “telling voters they’re not thinking for themselves. Well, John McCain voted with George Bush 95 percent of the time. Was that thinking for himself?” The most well-known Hispanic politician in the United States said McCain has switched his positions on tax cuts, tobacco, and policies favored by the religious right and the National Rifle Association.Then he delivered the applause line of the speech, playing off recent controversy over just how many houses the wealthy McCain owns. “John McCain may pay hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but we’re the ones who have to pay for his flip-flops,” Richardson said. Richardson delivered one of the harshest critiques of McCain of the entire convention, saying comparatively little about Obama. He said the tens of thousands of voters in attendance were not there to “see a celebrity,” but instead to elect a president. Serving as a foreign policy witness, the former ambassador to the United Nations said that in all his years of diplomacy and governing, the United States had never faced so many challenges as right now, including economy and the government. He sought to return the foreign policy to the conversation, too, suggesting Obama and his vice presidential candidate, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.) will do a better job of prioritizing than the Bush administration. “I have a question for you, is anybody here going to miss Dick Cheney?” Richardson said. “Joe Biden is going to be truly a great vice president of the United States. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must fight the terrorists not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be.” Richardson also said the pair would secure nuclear materials, “not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be.” Richardson also echoed General Wesley Clark’s (D) controversial admonition that being a prisoner of war doesn’t qualify McCain to be president. “We honor his service, but that doesn’t mean we have to make him president,” Richardson said.
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