Hispanic Gov. Richardson Endorses Obama

Unless Obama taps him for VP.

Excellent news.

I would definitely prefer him to be the VP. He surely fills in the gaps where Obama could use it. Obama has great judgement and wisdom for handling foreign affairs, but Richardson has real relevant experience. No tea parties for him.

Yes - that would be a great ticket. Obama and Richardson. Richardson would bring a lot to the ticket in the way of experience with foreign affairs.

This is really good news - something more positive and substantive to read in the headlines. :)

Nice attempt at distraction from Obama's Wright woes. I'll bet the Republicans can't wait for the campaign when they can discuss Obama's judgement.

Nice attempt at distraction from Obama's Wright woes.

yes, because we all know that all presidential campaigns are solely about the Wright woes, and only peripherally about things like who prominent people endorse and who might be a VP running mate....

Hey, John McCain's in the Middle East, why's he trying to attempt distraction from this thing?

That would be kinda sweet - Richardson for vice president? I'd go for that.

Presidential campaigns have been influenced by smaller things than this. If you think we won't be hearing about Wright in the fall, you'll be mistaken. His "judgement" for staying in this church for 20 years will haunt him.

His "judgement" for staying in this church for 20 years will haunt him.

unless some proof surfaces that Obama was aware of the reverend's statements that people are taking out of context, making no attempt to fully understand and manufacturing outrage about; I hope so, it'll be easy to debunk and seen as a sad and desperate attempt to smear him.

so yeah, haunt him like Casper maybe.

Sorry, no VP for Bill Richardson. If there was even a hint of it, Richardson would have shaved his beard.

Secretary of State with beard is more doable.

GOOD CALL gedanken!

We were just saying the other day though that we (my wife and I) like it now that he's not running for president anymore cause he looks better (read: it hides his substantive double chin) with it.

I believe he's going on the Today show today. Personally, I'm not eagerly awaiting an Obama endorsement, but I could be wrong.

(*wags finger* don't disappoint me John!)

Certainly it's a major coup for Obama. Despite the early chants of "race doesn't matter," the distasteful aspects of the campaigns of late show that race is an issue -- or at least it's something we all like to talk about. Certainly it would be simplistic to say that this will be the only factor, but I bet it will be one of the key things mentioned in pretty much every news analysis tonight.

Edward:
I think it will become less of an issue in the general election. John McCain has a general disdain of extremely dirty politics of the type we are seeing from Clinton trying to totally destroy Obama so that she can take his place. In fact, McCain just suspended one of his campaign workers for linking to a YouTube video that drew links between Obama, Jeremiah Wright and Malcolm X among others. That seems to be pretty much in keeping with McCain's dislike of the "Swift Boat" attacks against John Kerry in 2004 and his own disgust at the racial politics used against him by the Bush campaign in South Carolina in 2000.

"Edward:
I think it will become less of an issue in the general election. John McCain has a general disdain of extremely dirty politics of the type we are seeing from Clinton trying to totally destroy Obama so that she can take his place. In fact, McCain just suspended one of his campaign workers for linking to a YouTube video that drew links between Obama, Jeremiah Wright and Malcolm X among others. That seems to be pretty much in keeping with McCain's dislike of the "Swift Boat" attacks against John Kerry in 2004 and his own disgust at the racial politics used against him by the Bush campaign in South Carolina in 2000."

______________________________

You have got to be kidding. It makes virtually no difference whether a candidate approves of a tactic or not. Let's take the 'virtually' out of that sentence. It makes no difference. In our environment, anyone at all can start the ball rolling on the discussion , or smearing of an issue. All you need is a platform, and there are too many of those. There is no chance, ZERO, that Rev. Wright, and more generally Obama's horrible judgement in remaining a member of a racially divisive and separatist church, will not be a major issue in the fall campaign. You got to lay off that koolaid Scott.

I agree McCain isn't as dirty as the Clintons. But he is getting counsel from Karl Rove now, that worries me.

dugan:

You have got to be kidding. It makes virtually no difference whether a candidate approves of a tactic or not. Let's take the 'virtually' out of that sentence. It makes no difference. In our environment, anyone at all can start the ball rolling on the discussion , or smearing of an issue. All you need is a platform, and there are too many of those. There is no chance, ZERO, that Rev. Wright, and more generally Obama's horrible judgment in remaining a member of a racially divisive and separatist church, will not be a major issue in the fall campaign.

An issue can circulate at a low level without the candidate's approval but once you get to the state and national party it's a non-starter if the candidate vetoes it. Particularly in the Republican Party because of their stronger organization. If McCain passes the word that he doesn't want "Issue X" discussed, it will get discussed once or twice, people will get suspended or fired and then it will be relegated to people on the Internet and pundits. Without the opponent's campaign pushing an issue it tends to lose momentum because neither of the candidates are talking about it.

I have to agree with dugan here Scott. Take off the Pollyanna glasses. This Wright business will haunt Obama right down to the end of all of this either in the convention or more likely in the general election. If the Republican 527s don't use it, they're idiots.

Insofar the Richardson endorsement goes, I give it approximately the weight I give most politicians endorsing another -- next to nothing.

I have to agree with dugan here Scott. Take off the Pollyanna glasses. This Wright business will haunt Obama right down to the end of all of this either in the convention or more likely in the general election. If the Republican 527s don't use it, they're idiots.

There's even more to it than that. Evidently Obama intends to remain a member of this church. As more people come to understand the origin of black liberation theology, which Rev, Wright was touting on a national cable news show just last year, the issue is simply going to be surfacing again and again. It will dog Obama the entire way, and the issue has already made him unelectable for just that reason. If he were to publicly quit the church and say he has learned some things in the process, maybe he would have a chance, assuming blacks will vote for him no matter what. Short of that, he will never be elected President. The majority is not going to put in office a man who is an active member of a racially divisive, separatist church.

Bill:
I never said those unaffiliated with the campaign wouldn't use it. They'll utilize it, perhaps heavily. They may even generate a backlash against their candidate because of it. However, it won't have the bite of the Swift Boat ads because you won't have the candidate they are intended to help shrugging them off. McCain will likely call out ads like this verbally and that takes some steam off the punch.

dugan:
Unelectable? LOL I may have went a bridge too far but you're three counties away. I'd like to hear Bill's thoughts on this but to call any three of these candidates "unelectable" this early in the race is cocky at best. People thought that Harry Truman was going to get wiped out by Thomas Dewey as well... a Pulitzer Prize-winning picture can tell you the story of how that went. ;-) I think you're far too depressed far too early about our chances.

Scott, I think Obama's got problems bigtime with this in the general election. First impressions are the ones that count most and on this issue the second impression of him finagling and equivocating around Wright isn't going to impress many except the already converted. The one thing he does have in his favor on this is that it happened in March and not September. Had it been the latter it would almost certainly sink him. But if he goes into the convention in late summer still showing that he's going to have trouble beating McCain then everything in the Democratic Party's up for grabs.

McCain is too old, too doddering, and too confused. His time was eight years ago.

For how long will Americans accept Lieberman and Graham on his side constantly whispering, advising and correcting?

Not too mention his temper. And while we're at it, Hillary's temper. The two of them need anger management classes. No wonder they don't want to meet with dictators of other countries. They'd hear three words they don't like, they would lash out like they tend to do, and we'd be taking three steps backwards away from a solution.

A cool, calm, and collected President is what we need (in addition to other things too). If either of those two get the help they need, maybe they'll be better candidates.

While we are compassionate about the Rev. Wright debacle I was taught that people vote on their pocketbook, pocketbook, and pocketbook. The economy is teetering on a major economic recession and perhaps a depression, so my guess on the key issues for November are saving one's job, home, and lifetime savings. You might couple these items with the nightmare of 100 dollar per barrel of oil to suggest that Senator John Mc Cain also may experience a difficult road in the November General Election.

That's true. Economy is his weak point. But if Obama is the nominee, all he has are plans to fix it, no real experience in that area that I know of. Anyone know of any Obama economic experience?

Yet another reason for Richardson to be VP, he has that experience too.

Having people like Robert Rubin and Robert B. Reich in his cabinet is more important that having a VP with economics credentials.

I agree, in terms of actually holding the office. I was thinking about the getting-elected-in-the-first-place part.

I've wondered about this: Why don't presidential candidates make public who they intend to name for at least the more important cabinet positions, or at least publish their short list. The argument that it is too early for them to know doesn't fly with me. You're running for the most powerful office in the whole world, and you don't have a clear idea about who would be in your candidate six or even twelve months before when you would take office?

It seems to me that with all the talk about substance over talk, there isn't much that is more substantial to the character of your presidency than who you name Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Secretary of the Treasury. And now also, Secretary of Energy.

It's a relic of the patronage system. Keeping the big cabinet positions open keeps 1) super-delegates who have endorsed happy that either they or their choices for positions still have a chance and 2) keep uncommitted super-delegates uncommitted rather than shutting them out of the potential administration.

I can see that... but if all candidates were expected to do it the effects on super-delegates would be a wash. Also, this is another argument that super-delegates should be done away with.

Even if there weren't super-delegates, I think you would still see reticence to name the cabinet in the primary season. Endorsements themselves aren't nothing, even if they may not be what they once were in importance.

What? You think McBush has a better chance of uniting the nation? Now THAT gets me ROFL!

I don't think anyone can unite the nation at this point, including Obama.

Certainly there are some who will do (or comment) anything at any cost to divide the nation.

Hey dugan49.....did you check the guest-list?......Whata'ya tryin' out yer new boxing gloves?
LoL..dugan and Bill Harrison ..back to back..in hostile territory

gp:
Yeah, Bill Harrison is a big Hillary Clinton backer. ;-) How clueless could you be? LOL

Scott-

bill might as well be a hillary backer in the sense that he knows damn well that Obama will tar and feather the old man mccain. he's rooting for the weak sister so his conservative buddies might have a chance in the general election.

it kills him that a black man might one day be president and perhaps bring and end to his washington insider gravy train.

Cory:
Though I can't say Richardson sets me on fire or anything, I think he has been a solid servant to his country in his many government roles. I could see Obama nominating Richardson for his VP slot as that would help him bridge the gap between black and Hispanic voters that has emerged in the Democratic primaries. Obama's difficulty with Hispanic voters needs to be cleared up for him to have a strong chance at winning the White House.

I think that's a real question. You've got VP and State slots open. You've got Richardson and Biden out there. Biden may be a better ally in the Senate. But who knows. We need to look at the political landscape as we go into Denver before we can seriously make a call on it.

I don't know that Richardson on the ticket does help very much. There is the intuition that he would help with Latino support, but they guy's name is Bill Richardson, not Matt Santos (oh, if only we had Matt Santos). But, again, we'll have to see what the landscape looks like nearer to election day.

Ratigan:
Honestly, if I were Obama I would nominate Jim Webb (D - Virginia) as my VP. Given people's conception of the VP as a very active adviser of the president in the wake of two of the strongest VPs in our country's history (Al Gore and Dick Cheney) I think that Webb's national security background as a veteran and Secretary of the Navy would help Obama's Commander in Chief credentials immensely. I also think that Webb's presence would put Virginia in play as well as a number of other states where there are large black minority populations and the rest of the population is essentially white. Also add to that Obama's insistence that he wants to unite people from both political parties and a moderate Democrat that used to be a Republican but switched parties because of Iraq is the ideal message that you want to work with your political opponents.

Here's a question ..... that just occurred to me.

Is there any qualified potential VP candidate from MI or FL?

Not that I'm suggesting Obama choose a VP candidate from one of those states just for their state. I can't think of any two people more qualified than Bill Richardson and Jim Webb. But - hey - the question still presented itself. :)

Scott, I agree with you. Richardson can certainly bridge that Hispanic/African-American gap that currently presents itself in the Obama poll numbers. Richardson also has some pretty extensive foreign policy experience that could beneficial to Obama.

Clearly, the endorsement could not hurt in Obama in any way, I am now curious to see just how it helps him.

An Obama/Richardson ticket has been my personal dream ticket for several months now. This endorsement makes that a much more viable possibility now. I really like Richardson's foreign relations experience -I think that will virtually wipe out any perceived advantage MacCain might have in that department.

Cory:
If I were running Obama's campaign I think I would enlist Richardson to start laying the groundwork in a state like Texas with large numbers of Latino and Hispanic people. We're 7 months and change out from the election so I think I'd start him going twice a month and then have him practically living there from September through Election Day. The best way to turn this endorsement into votes is to put the guy on the ground. Not only that, but Richardson is considered to have impeccable foreign affairs credentials. I think I would reach out to him to write an oped for the New York Times (which would make sure it got circulated everywhere) about why Obama has the necessary experience, skills and judgment to handle a foreign crisis. The best thing about Richardson is he knows the Clintons well and declined to endorse Hillary; to my mind, that cannot be repeated often enough for the Obama campaign.

Just moved to ABQ from Cali so not up to speed on Richardson and NM politics. However, I do like what I have seen of Richardson so far. I do think it is a good endorsement. :)

Welcome to our state mysteryone!

Richardson's definitely been the most powerful governor of NM I can remember; he has brought alot of recognition to our state. I think people in all 50 now know it exists even!

I'm pretty surprised that 'Memo is supporting Obama over Hillary, although I think he wants another cabinet post or even to be the VP running mate and was just hedging his bet all this time so that he could support whomever could make it happen for him.

Glad to be here, greck. My mom & dad were from here originally.

Hmmmm. One little problem with Richardson --- Wen Ho Lee.

Psssttt.. Lee is so 2000. That's a few generations in the political timeframe.

Next try.

#10 - I agree he'd make a great VP. I hope he can swing some Hispanic votes Obama's way.

Bill -

here you go again, grasping for straws..

to quote from your own link

Wen Ho Lee is free
As the government's wobbly case against him closes, will Chinagate close along with it?

and

The government never had much of a case to begin with. And after a year of chest-thumping and bluster, instead of having the good grace to admit they were wrong, they forced Lee to plead to a felony as the price for getting out of jail.

everyone in government has made mistakes, (you need look no further than the current bozo in the whitehouse) and it is so amusing to watch you run to the defense of the conservative causes while digging all you can to find something (anything) to damage a candidate from the other side of the aisle. even when all you have is innuendo. Wen ho walked because there was no case against him, yet you bring it up as a "problem" for richardson.

pathetic really. but if all you have is straws....

but then again, if thats all you can dig up, then maybe we'll get the long needed change in washington that we so desperately need.

10.3,

It's a classic exhibition of the ODOR syndrome. A bit to the desperate extreme.

www.newsvine_com/_news/2008/03/20/1380443-state-fires-2-for-looking-at-obama-file#c1603230

Several large media organizations had to pay goodly sums of money to Wen Ho Lee to settle his civil action against them based largely on probable leaks from Bill Richardson who was at the time worried about covering his ass as Sec. of Energy in charge of Los Alamos. That story will resurface if Richardson is chosen to be anyone's running mate.

based largely on probable leaks from Bill Richardson

once again pulling facts from thin air bill?

come on. all you have are supposition and wishful thinking. again.

hanna-

i had a conversation today with the woman who cuts my hair ( a latina) and she tells me that richardson is held in high regard in the latino community in new mexico..

she told me that obama can count on the support of her and her family now that he has richardson's endorsement. she said she feels others will also vote for him in the general election.

do you live in new mexico or even know any new mexicans? richardson has done a fine job here in new mexico and most people i know support him..

I'm thinking Hanna's opinions are produced more from the "wazoo" than an actual logical thought process.

I am the latino community here in NM (my family's been here a at least 300 years on both sides). Richardson is quite well thought of here. Some of my family members (including an aunt who's a state senator) say he strongarms/intimidates people sometimes, but have alot of respect for him and all he's able to get done. His endorsement means alot among my family members (which is like half the population of the central part of the state).

It's not like Hillary won overwhelmingly here, by the way, she won by 2 delegates of 38 total.

torpeau - newsvine is a great place to give references, and provide links. You may do so if you wish.

>torpeau - newsvine is a great place to give references, and provide links. You may do so if you >wish.

Haven't figured out how to put in a link, but google or check topleft.com
among other places.