CANDIDATE NUMBER FOUR: BILL RICHARDSON
FULL NAME: William Blaine Richardson
CURRENT OFFICE: Governor of New Mexico
BIRTHPLACE: Pasadena, California
AGE: 57
RELIGION: Roman Catholic
EDUCATION: Tufts University, Bachelor's in Political Science, Master's in Law.
PREV. EXPERIENCE: U.S. Representative, New Mexico-3rd District, 1983-1997; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1997; U.S. Secretary of Energy, 1998-2001.
CURRENT ANALYSIS: Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, was strongly considered by Sen. John Kerry as his 2004 Vice Presidential nominee. Richardson debunked the rumors on cabel news shows on a regular basis, but always ducked the question concerning whether he would be a candidate for president in 2008. At the DNC Convention in Boston, Richardson served as the convention chairman, doing an excellent job of orchestrating a sometimes chaotic meeting. Before his election as Governor, Richardson served in Bill Clinton's cabinet as Energy Secretary, and he is primarily remembered in that capacity as the man who investigated Wen Ho Lee for possibly stealing information. Richardson has a long record in foreign affairs, as the U.S.'s Ambassador to the UN (John Bolton doesn't even compare), and during his 14 years in Congress, he made numerous international trips.
P2008 ANALYSIS: Bill Richardson could be the spolier to Hillary Clinton's anointing. If he can come up with a strong foreign policy message and a very progressive domestic policy message, he will take away from Hillary's supposed base of support. If he won the nomination, and is elected President, Richardson would be both the first non-white president (he's Hispanic), but also the first president in many, many years (possibly since pre-Van Buren) whose parents are not both Americans (His mother is from Mexico City {where he was raised}, but his father is from Boston, Massachusetts). Richardson has made trips to New Hampshire, and reportedly went over like a lead balloon. He will need to get people to see he is likable and smart, and get over the lack of name I.D. Richardson is one to watch.
NOTE
This is my first of hopefully 3 posts tonight. The next one will focus on Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, and the final of the night will be about the Supreme Court. Tomorrow look for a big, Democrat rant about Jerry Kilgore.
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