Bill Richardson for Vice President!!

Here's a great idea. Thanks to Ken Camp. And sign the petition!!

A Class Act

Here's the text of the email Governor Richardson sent out to his supporters upon his withdrawal from the presidential race yesterday. I particularly love the last bit:

Dear Stephen,

It is with great pride, understanding and acceptance that I am ending my campaign for President of the United States. It was my hope that all of you would first hear this news from me and not a news organization. But unfortunately, as with too many things in our world today, it's the ending of something that garners the most intense interest and speculation.

I knew from the beginning that this would be an uphill climb. When I entered the campaign, it was clear that we, as Democrats, had the most talented field of candidates in my lifetime running to change the direction of our country. And in the end, one of them will.

Despite overwhelming financial and political odds, I am proud of the campaign we waged and the influence we had on the issues that matter most to the future of this country.

A year ago, we were the only major campaign calling for the removal of all of our troops within a year's time from Iraq. We were the only campaign calling for a complete reform of education in this country, including the scrapping of No Child Left Behind. And we were the campaign with the most aggressive clean energy plan and the most ambitious standards for reducing global warming.

Now, all of the remaining candidates are coming to our point of view. I am confident that the next President of the United States will implement much of what we've been urging for the last twelve months, and our nation and world will be the better for it.

There are so many of you who gave so much to this campaign. For that, I will be forever grateful. Running for president has been, at times, humbling and at other times, exhilarating. I have grown and learned a great deal from the experience, and I am a better person for it.

Also, because of your close friendship and support throughout the ups and downs of what is a very grueling and demanding process, I have never felt alone.

Running for president brings out the best in everyone who graces the stage, and I have learned much from the other candidates running. They have all brought great talents and abilities to the campaign.

Senator Biden's passion and intellect are remarkable.

Senator Dodd is the epitome of selfless dedication to public service and the Democratic Party.

Senator Edwards is a singular voice for the most downtrodden and forgotten among us.

Senator Obama is a bright light of hope and optimism at a time of great national unease, yet he is also grounded in thoughtful wisdom beyond his years.

Senator Clinton's poise in the face of adversity is matched only by her lifetime of achievement and deep understanding of the challenges we face.

Representative Kucinich is a man of great decency and dedication who will faithfully soldier on no matter how great the odds.

And all of us in the Democratic Party owe Senator Mike Gravel our appreciation for his leadership during the national turmoil of Vietnam.

I am honored to have shared the stage with each of these Democrats. And I am enormously grateful to all of my supporters who chose to stand with me despite so many other candidates of accomplishment and potential.

Now that my time in this national campaign has come to an end, I would urge those who supported my candidacy to take a long and thoughtful look at the remaining Democrats. They are all strong contenders who each, in their own way, would bring desperately needed change to our country. All I ask is that you make your own independent choice with the same care and dedication to this country that you honored me with during this campaign. At this time, I will not endorse any candidate.

Now I am returning to a job that I love, serving a state that I cherish and doing the work of the people I was elected to serve. As I have always said, I am the luckiest man I know. I am married to my high school sweetheart. I live in a place called the Land of Enchantment. I have the best job in the world. And I just got to run for president of the United States.

It doesn't get any better than that.

With my deepest appreciation for all that you have done,

Bill

The Time Has Come....

There's a sad part of every political campaign that doesn't finish first--the part where you have to decide when to throw down your cards and quit the game. For me, that time is now. I'm sorry to say that Governor Richardson's 5% showing in yesterday's New Hampshire primary was far short of what he needs to be a viable contender for the nomination, in my estimation. For all the reasons I've stated here so many times, I still believe that no one can match Bill Richardson's qualifications to be president. I still love the guy. I wish this had turned out differently. But it hasn't.

So it's time for me to decide which of the remaining two *viable* contenders for the nomination I support, and I've chosen Obama. Of course, my ideal pairing for the Dem ticket is Obama/Richardson, which I hope to see happen. No one could bring foreign-policy experience to Obama's White House bid like Bill Richardson.

Good luck, governor.

Washington Post Crowns Bill Richardson One of the Winners of Saturday's Debate

Chris Cillizza is the Washington Post's political blogger, and he believes that one of the two winners of Saturday night's NH debate was Bill Richardson. Will that be enough to carry the Gov to a much-stronger-than-expected showing in tomorrow's NH primary? I'll be eagerly awaiting those results....

Four Tickets Out of Iowa, But the Time Is Now For a Powerful Debate Performance From Governor Richardson

Iowa finished something like Obama 38, Edwards 30, Clinton 29, Richardson 2, in terms of percentage of delegates. The "real" vote in the first round had Bill Richardson at more like 7 or 8 percent, but caucus rules which demand that a candidate have at least 15 percent in a given precinct in order to have his/her votes counted made the final Richardson delegate total a lot lower.

So now, with tonight's New Hampshire debate rules in place--limiting the debate (9pm EST tonight on ABC) to the top four finishers in Iowa--this is now a four-person race for the Dem nomination.

But I'm not going to over-spin this for you. I think it's pretty clear that in order to be viewed as a truly viable contender for the nomination, Bill Richardson needs to do a couple things, and do them now: (1) give the debate performance of a lifetime tonight (he can't afford to be just another voice; he has to make himself the clear alternative to the other candidates), and (2) get a sizeable vote total in NH. No, I'm not going to define "sizeable," but right now the latest polls at Real Clear Politics have him at between 4 and 8 percent. Those kinds of numbers won't cut it on Tuesday if "electoral viability" is what we want, and, really, what else is there in a presidential primary?

So it seems to me that a lot of what we've all been fighting for comes down to tonight's debate. If tomorrow's headlines in the Union Leader, the Concord Monitor, and elsewhere are "Richardson Steps Up in Debate As a Clear, Experienced Advocate For Change," then we have ourselves a genuine horse race. If not....well, I'm sure the campaign wants to make Nevada--the first big western vote-- a huge defining win for the Gov, but if he's a single-digit fourth place out of NH, then it's going to be hard to suddenly make Nevada the shining star of a winning campaign for the nomination. On the other hand, with a strong NH performance and BR labeled the new Comeback Kid, suddenly Nevada and elsewhere look a lot more winnable.

So this is no time for moping, just realism. I believe as strongly as ever that Bill Richardson has what it takes to be one hell of a president--experience at so many levels of government; the will to get us out of the Iraq war expeditiously and safely; the steady hand and the gravitas to be a true world leader who restores the United States to a prominent, respected role worldwide; the fiscal conservatism and executive experience with balanced budgets to get our country out of the debt quagmire that it's currently in; and the electability as a Western governor that no other candidate can match in terms of delivering previously red states to the Democrats in November 2008.

But a lot of that potential for success hinges on a strong showing in New Hampshire, and a lot of that strong showing in New Hampshire hinges on a phenomenal (not just good, not just workmanlike) performance at tonight's debate. Come on, Governor. Show New Hampshire all those great qualities--*presidential* qualities--that drew all of us Richardson volunteers to your campaign so many months ago.

Go Bill!

I'm Sitting on the Edge of My Seat, Waiting For Caucus Returns....

...and wondering what the future holds for BR....