Here in the US, the big news (aside from the war in the Middle East) is the scandal that forced Bill Richardson had to withdraw from being the next Commerce Secretary in the Obama administration. A company specializing in helping governments and nonprofits secure competitive bids from banks and insurance companies made contributions of at least $110,000 to Richardson’s political action committee. He knew that he was under investigation for a while. His decision to withdraw his name is a good one. It’s better to step down now than to face complications in the long run.

As usual, in politics, many questions are being asked of the Obama team. Why did they pick him even though they knew that he was under investigation? It is a fair question, but since Bill Richardson is not guilty yet of any wrong doing, there is nothing to suggest that the Obama team used poor judgment. Unfortunately, as the Igbo of Nigeria say, “When a leaf falls to the ground, the tree gets the blame.”