Bill Richardson for President

First of all, let me say I have looked at all of the names being tossed out there from both sides and have studied their accomplishments. 2008 will be a year like no other, and there will be many great candidates. But after looking at all of the facts and figures, only one name stands out. That name is Governor Bill Richardson.

Why Bill Richardson? First of all, he’s a governor of a swing state in the West. According to CNN, in the 2004 Presidential election Bush had 376,930 votes to Kerry’s 370,942 votes. That’s a difference of 5988 votes. The FEC notes that in the 2000 election Al Gore had 286,783 votes to Bush’s 286,417. These election results clearly show that New Mexico is closely divided and can go either way in a general election. However, in 2002, CNN reports that by a vote of 256,561 votes for Bill Richardson to 177,739 votes for his opponent, John Sanchez, or 56% to 39%, and Richardson was elected governor. Richardson has proven his ability to get elected in a swing state. And with swing states making all the difference in recent presidential elections, Richardson appears more electable, in this regard, than some of the other potential Democratic nominees. A February 13, 2005 Survey USA poll shows Richardson enjoying 64% approval versus only 32% disapproval. Those numbers rank right up there with Schweitzer who is among the most popular governors in the nation.

I’m not going to dwell on it, but another advantage Richardson has is that he is a Governor and not a United States Senator. You can argue until you’re blue in the face, but reality is that in the last 30 years the only 2 Democrats who were elected President were governors. I’m not judging right or wrong, only presenting fact. Senators have extensive voting records that can be picked apart by the best opposition research teams that money can buy. Governors have executive experience that Senators don’t, and though they do create policy, they don’t vote yes or no on the legislation of the day. Granted, Richardson served as Congressman of New Mexico’s 3rd District for 15 years, but that was at least a decade ago, and many of his opponents are current U.S. Senators voting on the current issues that face our nation.

Governor Richardson is also of Hispanic origin. His mother, Maria Louisa Lopez-Collada was Mexican. The Hispanic vote is being increasingly courted by both sides in elections, and having Richardson as the only Latino in the race for the Democratic nomination will bode well for him. This isn’t to say that Richardson can take the Hispanic vote for granted, just that as one of their own, he possesses an advantage in that community that other candidates do not.

Governor Richardson's record speaks for itself. First, let's look at what he has done in New Mexico.

Governor Richardson promised when he ran for office to work tirelessly on behalf of all New Mexicans. During the Governor's first two legislative sessions, 78 out of 95 proposals outlined during his State of the State addresses have become reality - for an 82% success rate.

Overall, more than 90% of the initiatives that Governor Richardson promised during the 2002 campaign have become reality - everything from cutting income taxes and eliminating the tax on food to paying teachers better and increasing penalties for drunken drivers.

As a result, New Mexico is a state that is on the move. New Mexico is no longer at the bottom of all the state-by-state comparison lists. Under Governor Richardson's leadership, 27,400 jobs have been created since he took office in January 2003. That's more than double the 12,300 jobs that were created during the 16 previous months.

During his first year in office, Governor Richardson worked with educators, business leaders, labor activists, rural towns, urban communities, Republicans and Democrats to make major changes in New Mexico's public schools. The governor helped to convince voters to invest money in classrooms, not administration, while holding teachers and students accountable. The changes have resulted in 8 percent pay raises for teachers, and a new professional salary system that is the envy of the nation.

Governor Richardson is moving New Mexico forward, and it is making a difference in the lives of New Mexico families.

Early on as a congressman, he kept his interest in foreign relations. He visited Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, India, North Korea, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and the Sudan to represent U.S. interests. In 1995, he traveled to Baghdad with Peter Bourne and engaged in lengthy one-on-one negotiations with Saddam Hussein to secure the release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by the Iraqis after wandering over the Kuwaiti border. He also secured the release of an Albuquerque resident who was kept hostage in Sudan. He also successfully won the release of hostages, American servicemen, and prisoners in North Korea, Iraq and Cuba. Richardson clearly understands the energy crisis in the United States and how our dependence on foreign oil is a threat to our national security in ways no other candidate does. He became a member of the Democratic leadership, where he worked closely with Bill Clinton on several issues.

In 1997, Clinton appointed him as U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations. He served there until 1998, when he was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Energy. He served there for the remainder of the Clinton administration. Both posts gave him a significant amount of experience on the global stage. Early in his career Bill Richardson was a staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Richardson is currently serving as the chairman of the National Governors’ Association, just as Bill Clinton did prior to his run for President. This means that Bill Richardson has a national platform from which to get his name out.

With this kind of experience, who is more qualified? With all of his experience in government, at both the state and federal levels, Governor Richardson has the necessary contacts and ability to raise the money necessary to run for President. That fundraising ability will be tested if Senator Clinton gets into the race.

It is no coincidence that Al Gore and John Kerry both considered Richardson for Vice President when they won the Democratic nomination…because a Vice President must be ready to step up should something happen to the President. Gore and Kerry believed Richardson to be among those ready to be President. So do I.

Get on the bandwagon now. Bill Richardson 2008!