Not all lies are created equal

Some in the blogosphere are all a twitter about a discrepancy that has been found in New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's resume. Basically, for decades he has had a sentence on his resume that said he was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. I think some of my friends on the right side of the political spectrum are over-hyping this partly because Richardson is considered a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2008. Personally, I think they are wrong on this issue because they are looking at the situation as though the baseball draft in 1966 was held like the football draft is today. Richardson by all acounts was a very good pitcher in college. He was scouted by several teams and had every reason to think he would be drafted. There was no internet in 1966. Newspapers did not put out a list of everyone drafted. In the early years of the draft there was no limit to the number of rounds as long as teams were still selecting the draft would continue. Teams routinely would draft a marginal player and then follow his career before making an offer. Well, Richardson hurt his arm and was no longer considered a pro prospect which would explain why the team never contacted him. I'm no apologist for Richardson but I find it very plausible that he was led to believe he had been drafted. Often scouts wouldn't communicate directly to players but would deal with their coach instead. I have no problem believing a coach was told "we're planning on drafting your guy" and instead heard "we drafted your guy." Compared to the many lies the last Democrat president told about a more serious draft I have to consider this much ado about nothing.