Last week, the entire world breathed a collective sigh of relief as it bade 2008 a seemingly overdue “good riddance”. With hope in our hearts and optimism in mind, we donned rose-colored glasses and gazed ahead toward 2009.

But between the escalated violence in the Middle East and looming economic woes, the early days of this promising new year bear an all-too-familiar resemblance to the reality we thought we left behind. There is, however, one early headline from this inaugural week that stands out as particularly shocking: the Gov. Bill Richardson scandal.

For those of you who are unaware, Gov. Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico) withdrew his nomination to be President-Elect Barack Obama’s Commerce Secretary due to a pending federal investigation. The investigation focuses on how CDR Financial Products of Beverly Hills, Calif. received more than $1.5 million for advising the New Mexico state government on bond operations after the financial firm gave $100,000 to two of Richardson’s Political Action Committees.

The assumption, of course, is that the company’s financial endorsement of Richardson helped grease the wheels in their bid for the lucrative government contract, more commonly known as textbook bribery.

Obviously, if any of these allegations were ultimately found to be true, the result could potentially be a career-ending blow for one of the Democratic Party’s most celebrated and promising stars.

But putting aside Richardson’s career future (or lack thereof), this latest political scandal raises a couple of troubling concerns.

First of all, many people voted for the drastic political shift in the last two years because scandals similar to this plagued the Republicans throughout their reign. Just ask former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay about his thoughts on the illegal use of funds involving PACs. He’s had a lot of time to think about it since his own indictment in September 2005 ousted him from his once-prominent role.

One of the key components of the Democrats’ recent rise to power is the fact that after a few individual incidents of governmental corruption and corporate greed, all Republicans were virtually blackballed by association. The Democrats effectively distinguished themselves as characteristically different when it comes to these flawed traits. But between Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D-Illinois) attempt to virtually auction off Obama’s vacant Senate seat and Richardson’s debacle, it seems as though the Democrats may not be nearly as innocent and selfless as advertised.

So the question is: did the vote for “change” really result in a change in this regard? Perhaps the problem is not party related, but is rather rooted in the seemingly deteriorating morality in the arena of professional politics. Or maybe Lord Acton was right when he commented that “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The second blaring issue that arises from Richardson’s current conundrum relates directly to President-Elect Obama. I’m no conspiracy theorist, and I’m certainly not trying to insinuate Obama’s role in the recent events; but it does seem rather peculiar that in just two months since his election, our President-Elect has been dangerously close to two governors who have been federally investigated for these “pay-to-play” acts of extortion.

I sincerely doubt Obama has had any hand in either of these cases, but his close affiliation with these ethically tainted individuals does make me wonder a bit about our future commander-in-chief’s judgment of character. Add the walking political liability that is Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the other two, and it is pretty safe to say that Obama should seek out friends of higher personal quality than these three unwise men.

Do not let these notions dissuade you from the optimistic hope of change. If there is one thing that is certain, it is that things will indeed change. Let’s just hope that that change is, in fact, for the better, and that these early incidents are simply anomalistic flukes instead of a warning sign of things to come.

Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.