While Bill Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary, I am left to wonder that, with such a tainted background, how did Richardson pass the Obama application process?  

In November 2008, the Obama-Biden Administration put forth a 7-page 63 question application for potential senior candidates to fill out.  Besides the obvious tax and financial information, the application also asked about potential conflicts of interest, internet aliases, and whether you keep a diary and whether that diary might contain writings that might be an embarrassment to Barack Obama.

When reviewing Richardson's application did the Obama team just happen to miss that fact the Richardson was under investigation for a potential pay-to-play scheme with a company that does business in his state?  What about these facts:  

Richardson Served As A Board Member Of Peregrine Systems From February 2001 To June 2002.  "The former chief financial officer at Peregrine Systems Inc. pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and securities fraud after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors who are investigating accounting irregularities at the software company. Matthew C. Gless, Peregrine's chief financial officer from November 2000 to May 2002, admitted taking part in a scheme to prematurely recognize revenue, an effort to boost the company's share price and mislead investors." (Elliot Spagat, "Former Peregrine CFO Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy, Fraud," The Associated Press, 4/13/03)
 
Lawmakers And Media Called For Richardson's Resignation Over Security Breach At Laboratory In Los Alamos, New Mexico. "The whereabouts of two computer hard drives at the center of a Los Alamos National Laboratory security breach investigation may have been unknown for as long as six months - not the six weeks originally reported ..." ("Timeline On Missing Los Alamos Hard Drives in Question: Their Whereabouts May Have Been Unknown For Months, Not Weeks," CNN.com, 6/20/00)
 
Even Democrats Were Upset With Richardson Over Handling Of Security Breach. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV): "You have shown an extreme contempt ... of this Congress." (H. Josef Hebert, "Richardson At The Center Of Security, Gas Prices Firestorm," The Associated Press, 6/22/00)  Sen. Byrd: "You've had a bright and brilliant career. But you will never again receive the support of the Senate of the United States for any office to which you might be appointed. It's gone. You've squandered your treasure." (H. Josef Hebert, "Richardson At The Center Of Security, Gas Prices Firestorm," The Associated Press, 6/22/00)  Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) Also Criticized Richardson. Sen. Kerry: "In my judgment the damage to U.S. interests is very real and what has leaked out is a very serious issue." (Andrew Miga, "Kerry Warns Of More Cases Of Alleged Chinese Spying," The Boston Herald, 3/22/99)

Richardson Took Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars In Free Flights From Largest Smokeless Tobacco Firm. "Gov. Bill Richardson has taken tens of thousands of dollars worth of free corporate jet flights from the world's largest smokeless-tobacco company in his role as head of the Democratic Governors Association." (Jeff Jones, "Smokeless On These Flights," Albuquerque Journal, 5/14/06)

Richardson Falsely Claimed To Have Been Drafted By The Kansas City A's. "The Albuquerque Journal reported last month that it had found no record of Richardson being drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the 1960s as Richardson had claimed in a biography when he ran for Congress in 1982. The governor acknowledged the error." (Barry Massey, "GOP Airs Ad Criticizing Governor As 'King Bill,'" The Associated Press, 12/6/05)
 
Richardson Uses Taxpayer Money To Buy Starbucks, Cigars, Newspaper, A Mattress And Meals While Traveling. "Cigars. Starbucks coffee. Copies of The New York Times. A $960 mattress. Meals in Switzerland, Mexico City and Washington and hotel rooms in Phoenix. They are among the items taxpayers have bought for Gov. Bill Richardson or his staff in recent months by virtue of a little-known state fund - an unaudited expense account that the Democratic-controlled Legislature quietly boosted by $60,000 shortly after the governor took office." (Barry Massey, "Richardson Uses State 'Contingency' Fund For Cigars, Starbucks, Overseas Meals," The Associated Press, 10/31/03)
 
Richardson Refused To Say How Expensive Meals Were. "[T]he governor refuses to
elaborate on some of the fund's expenditures - including costs of meals and lodging that
were charged on state credit cards by state police officers who serve as his security
agents." (Barry Massey, "Richardson Uses State 'Contingency' Fund For Cigars, Starbucks,
Overseas Meals," The Associated Press, 10/3130/03)

"Gov. Bill Richardson's Administration Bought 12 Acres Of Vacant Santa Fe Land From A Major Campaign Contributor And His Family, Paying $3.2 Million More Than The Family Had Paid For The Property 28 Months Before." ("Richardson Donor Sold 12 Acres To Administration," The Associated Press, 6/19/06)
 

That must have been some liberal application review process.