The Dems may be in trouble in another state they swept in the last election. The latest results from Public Policy Polling show that Bill Richardson's popularity as New Mexico governor has plunged to 28% job approval as opposed to 63% disapproval. As PPP notes, Big Bill is even negative with Democrats by a 42/47 spread. This from the guy who was flying so high two years ago he was an early presidential contender and then an Obama cabinet selectee.

This bird is one lame duck that is quickly turning into an albatross around the neck of his number two, Lt. Governor Diane Denish, who is running to succeed him next fall. While leading right now, if she doesn't begin to separate herself from Richardson's policies and persona, she could find herself in a real fight. The same is true of first-term congressman, Harry Teague, who was swept into office from a conservative district on the Democrat wave of 2008. Now, the first poll on his upcoming reelection battle shows his district returning to its former conservative sanity.

Even though New Mexico is facing a huge budget deficit, Richardson has shown little interest in doing much to alleviate the problem, choosing rather to play a shell game with the legislature where even some in the Democrat majority say he is insincere. Heavily criticized for the record number of supporters he appointed to executive positions as political payback, Big Bill promised legislative leaders to dump as many of these budget busters as he could. In reality, it now appears he has simply moved them from political appointee status to the protected status of full-fledged state employees where a Republican replacement will be stuck with them.

Bill, who were he named Richard surely would be called Tricky Dick, has been able to dodge federal indictments in the pay to play scandals because of Democrat control of the Justice Department. But he, more than most Democrats, must be watching the upcoming elections, both this fall and the 2012 presidential race, with great trepidation. A Republican majority in Congress could demand action from Eric Holder, but certainly a Republican attorney general in 2013 would see Richardson as red meat, and considering his bulk, a whole side of beef.

Former presidential aspirants like Al Gore and John Edwards may be embarrassments to the Democrats but none of their former contenders have been put behind bars. Yet...