The following analysis of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as a Dem candidate in 2008 is from the conservative National Review, but is not too biased.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjEzZWIwMWE2M2NmZDY5OTYxMjAyM2M2NTA3NjFlZTM=December 19, 2006
"If there were a presidential candidate available who had deep experience in both state and federal government, the executive and legislative branch, and foreign and domestic affairs, would he be rated among the top of the field? How about if the same candidate had the retail political skills to match his policy experience and came from a bellwether state in a battleground part of the country? And what if this person had the sort of national contacts that are a must to raise the significant sums necessary for a run for the White House. And did we mention he’s part of the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group, is bilingual, and has a record of getting crossover votes?
...Tufts undergrad followed by a masters from his alma mater’s Fletcher School of Diplomacy; staff stints at the State Department and on Capitol Hill; elected at 35 to the House where he’d spend 15 years; successive appointments as ambassador to the U.N. and secretary of Energy; easy election and reelection as governor and a term as chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association (DGA). Beyond this litany is an engaging and likeable man who is a force of nature on the campaign trail...
And Richardson’s prospects in a New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado would certainly be helped by demographics. Each of these four states has a significant Hispanic population. The son of an American father and Mexican mother, Richardson grew up in Mexico City and speaks Spanish fluently. Richardson also embraces the politics of the west. He’s ... cut taxes, and most importantly has been supportive of business while also protecting the land. Such policies have brought ranchers and hunters into the fold ... and helped him garner 68 percent of the vote in his reelection bid this year. And despite his New England pedigree, Richardson successfully affects the style of the region. He can pull off a cowboy hat and bolo tie and appear in a spaghetti western-style campaign commercial without it looking too forced. He also talks in the direct and occasionally salty manner of the west."