The Bill Richardson Watch, 2/23/2007

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By THE NEW MEXICAN
February 23, 2007
http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/57476.html

And then there was one: governor in the race, that is. Tom Vilsack of Iowa dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination this morning. He was behind the polls and behind in fund-raising ­ with experts predicting candidates will need $20 million in hand by June 2007. Bill Richardson now is the only governor in the race.

The New York Times weighs in on Richardson' s candidacy, in this piece by Ralph Blumenthal and Dan Frosch (formerly of the Santa Fe Reporter). The lead:
"When a governor runs for president, local issues can suddenly loom large. Take cockfighting. Gov. Bill Richardson has come out against it after ignoring the question for years." (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/us/politics/23richardson.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print)

The piece also discusses some of the controversies of his term, including the appointment of Tommy Rodella as magistrate judge in Rio Arriba County and Richardson's reputation for being touchy-feely.


From Nevada Up North, a shout-out to the Richardson campaign: "Aside from Hillary¹s secret service, Richardson¹s campaign was the most visible." The same post also mentions a discussion with an undecided attendee who left the event a Richardson fan. http://nvupnorth.blogspot.com/2007/02/forum.html

Making news: Richardson promises to have a cabinet position for the Secretary of Indian Affairs, moving it out of the Department of Interior. Read the interview with Indian Country Today¹s Sonny Skyhawk .
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414557

Meanwhile, Bill Richardson keeps right on campaigning and traveling the country ­ off to Florida this weekend and then to the National Governors Association yearly meeting in Washington, D.C.

Two views: A postive note from John E. Carey, who blogs at www.nowpublic.com, (http://www.nowpublic.com/american_politics_bill_richardson_our_kind_of_guy) who calls Richardson the "most highly qualified candidate" in the race and rejects a snarky post from the "advice goddess," AKA Amy Alkon, who writes a syndicated advice column. She claims that Richardson lacks swagger.
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2007/02/giuliani_formay_1.html

more: http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/57476.html


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