And Commerce Secretary Goes to ...

Bearded political renaissance man and current governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson was picked Wednesday morning to be Barack Obama’s secretary of commerce. The unsurprising move makes Richardson the latest politician drafted by Team Obama, who point to Richardson’s experience at the U.N., as governor, and as energy secretary.

The BBC:

US President-elect Barack Obama has picked New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as his commerce secretary.

Mr Richardson is one of the most prominent Hispanic politicians in the US and his nomination has been expected for several weeks.

He becomes the latest former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination to join Mr Obama’s cabinet.

The president-elect has named more than half of his cabinet in the month since he was elected president.

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nytimes.com

Richardson, 61, is no stranger to government, having served under Bill Clinton as U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.