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So he's not the great negotiator?

Bloggers are taking issue with folks who think Bill Richardson scored a nuclear victory during his North Korea trip. One of them, the "DPRK Studies" blog had this to say on Thursday:

"Richardson did not negotiate any breakthrough with the North Koreans and was not authorized to do so. The North Korean decision was because Macau authorities had unblocked about $25 million of North Korean funds that had been frozen at Banco Delta Asia for about 18 months.

"That inspectors would be required and that the reactor be shutdown was agreed to in the Feb. 13 deal, and had absolutely nothing to do with Richardson being in Pyongyang.

"Don't confuse the messenger of news he had nothing to do with, with the actual negotiator, which was and is Christopher Hill. Hill will take a large part of the blame when it fails, so don't try to steal his thunder unless you want to partake in that as well.

"What Bill Richardson's delegation did do was this: `made clear to the North Koreans that Americans are united in seeking a "peaceful and final end to North Korea's nuclear program." ' But that's all."

Collegiate backing

University of Minnesota student Bobby Kahn wrote in the student newspaper on Thursday that Richardson is a different kind of Democrat and meant that in the nicest way:

"(W)hen it appears that the Democratic Party might be doomed with two mediocre candidates running the show and bringing in the most money from liberal donors, there is still hope. In this case, hope goes by the name of Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico.

"Mr. Richardson is a man that seems very sincere when he is talking to you. He has not compromised his beliefs and backed down under pressure from consultants. He is real, something that very few candidates on either side can say. . . .

"One need only look back to 1992 to see the story of a smart, charismatic governor coming out of nowhere to win the Democratic nomination and eventually two straight presidential elections."

Wonder if Kahn will get hit up for a campaign donation now.

Stick with the partiers

The National Journal's "Hotline" blog notes the weird disparity in how MoveOn members scored Tuesday's Iraq debate. Overall, Barack Obama was judged the most likely to get the United States out of Iraq by 28 percent; John Edwards had 25 percent; Dennis Kucinich 17 percent; and Richardson 12 percent. But when you looked only at the votes of those who gathered at house parties to watch, rather than watching it on their own, Obama came in third with 19 percent. Edwards held the lead with 25 percent and Richardson surged to second with 21 percent.

Either way, Hillary Rodham Clinton has to hang her head. She got 11 percent overall and only 7 percent from the house partiers.