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New Mexico Bill Richardson says it's OK with him that former President Bill Clinton hasn't forgiven him for backing Barack Obama.

"I did what I thought was best for the country. I'm still very fond of the Clintons. I've reconciled with her. But with him -- he wants to keep a grudge, that's fine with me. I move on. I'm governor of New Mexico. I'm happy where I am."

Richardson, a longtime Clinton ally who served in two top positions in Bill Clinton's presidential administration, mounted his own campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. But despite surprisingly strong fundraising and some attention-getting ads, Richardson never got traction. When he dropped out of the race after poor showings in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, both Hillary Clinton and Obama arduously courted Richardson's endorsement.

After he picked Obama over Clinton, Clinton backer James Carville called it "an act of betrayal" and compared the move to the biblical betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot.

Bill Clinton, who had personally pleaded for Richardson to endorse his wife, was said to be especially incensed.

Richardson did far more than simply pick Obama over Clinton. He stayed in the race well past any hope of success, and participated in a three-way Democratic debate in which he relentlessly attacked Clinton, playing bad-cop to Obama's good-cop. It was clearly a set-up -- any questions as to why he'd stayed in the race were answered by his actions that night.

He did far more than not endorse his old patron's wife: he stayed in the race, on purpose, solely to attack her as a surrogate for Obama.

If 201k were Bill Clinton, we wouldn't forgive him, either -- ever. What he did went way past "politics." If Richardson truly thought Obama was "best for the county" he could have dropped out and endorsed him, and in time the Clintons probably would have forgiven him. But it seems clear he made a deal with the other side -- which may yet be rewarded -- to stay in the race just to get to that debate, and be Obama's wingman.

Maybe there's more to this story; maybe somewhere along the way the Clintons personally offended Richardson, and he was getting his own back -- who knows. But without knowing why he did what he did, one can only stand back and understand completely why he's persona non grata with Bill Clinton.