Governor Richardson Ends Campaign for Presidency

THANK YOU!!!!

It is with great pride, understanding and acceptance that I am ending my campaign for President of the United States.

When I entered the campaign, it was clear that we, as Democrats, had the most talented field of candidates in my lifetime running to change the direction of our country. And in the end, one of them will.

Despite overwhelming financial and political odds, I am proud of the campaign we waged and the influence we had on the issues that matter most to the future of this country. A year ago, we were the only major campaign calling for the removal of all of our troops within a year's time from Iraq. We were the only campaign calling for a complete reform of education in this country, including the scrapping of No Child Left Behind. And we were the campaign with the most aggressive clean energy plan and the most ambitious standards for reducing global warming. Now, all of the remaining candidates have come to our point of view.

I am honored to have shared the stage with each of these Democrats. And I am enormously grateful to all of my supporters who chose to stand with me despite so many other candidates of accomplishment and potential.

Now I am returning to a job that I love, serving a state that I cherish and doing the work of the people I was elected to serve. As I have always said, I am the luckiest man I know. I am married to my college sweetheart. I live in a place called the Land of Enchantment. I have the best job in the world. And I just got to run for president of the United States.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Governor Bill Richardson
(from a statement posted on richardsonforpresident.com)

Iowa Caucus Tomorrow - Make Phone Calls from MD to Support Governor Richardson

Hi everyone! Here we are! The Iowa Caucuses are tomorrow. This is the election that will set the tone for the rest of the Presidentioal race and could even cause some to drop out, based on their performance. A number of Marylanders are currently in Iowa doing all they can to support the Governor. There's a way you can help too. The campaign has a tool set up on its website that will allow you to make phone calls to Iowa from your home in Maryland. Click here to get started calling Iowa voters.

Also, check out the below news coverage of the Governor's campaign efforts in Iowa this past weekend. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!

CNN Political Ticker

January 1, 2008
Richardson: 'I’m gonna shock the world’
Posted: 03:43 PM ET

(CNN) — Bill Richardson told CNN Tuesday that his Democratic presidential opponents had more “charisma,” but that once voters start to weigh in “I’m gonna shock the world.”

“People who are voting, they want someone to bring them together they’re inspired by. Somebody that can resolve problems,” said Richardson. “And I’m gonna do well, you watch. I’m gonna shock the world as we move into these early primaries.”

The New Mexico governor is running well behind Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in most early-voting states, registering the single digits in most surveys.

“I think this race is about who can bring this country together, who has the most experience,” Richardson told CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux. He said he’d asked voters to “not look at the candidates on not who has the most money, or the most charisma, or who was the best political pedigree, but who can change this country and give it hope. You need experience, you need a record and that is why I'm running.”

Richardson also cited his foreign policy experience, which has been a cornerstone of his presidential run. “I think I can negotiate a resolution to the Iraqi issue with diplomacy, not with force. And that’s what I think I bring to the table.”

Asked by Malveaux what his New Year’s resolution was, Richardson said it was the same as every year: “Lose weight,” adding, “I lose it a little at the start of the year, but then at the end of the year it comes back. But you know, in a campaign you just can’t lose weight. Because you’re eating, you’re tense, people give you things to eat — you can’t turn them down or you lose votes.”
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Richardson Rallies the Troops in Des Moines

December 30, 2007, 7:19 PM
Posted by Brian Montopoli 2

DES MOINES, IOWA - “The election of the next President of the United States should not be by the national media, it should be by Iowa,” an energetic Bill Richardson told a boisterous crowd of about 200 people in downtown Des Moines this afternoon.* He vowed to “shock the world” by winning the caucus and spoke of a recent poll that put him “within striking distance of the top three.”

In a 20 minute speech, Richardson ticked off his presidential plans, among them getting U.S. troops out of Iraq within a year, universal health care, more cancer research, eliminating No Child Left Behind, making mental health a priority, and “stopping the Bush administration from building condominiums on forests.”

In a shot at Dick Cheney, Richardson promised that “my vice president will be a member of the executive branch.” He engaged in a call and response with the crowd at both the beginning and end of the speech, opening by asking, “Are we ready to take our country back?” The crowd responded: “Woo!”

“Are we going to elect a Democratic president?,” Richardson then asked. “Yeeees!,” the audience yelled back. “What’s that president’s name?,” Richardson wondered. “Bill!,” they said.

Richardson entered the room to U2’s "Where the Streets Have No Name." He apologized to the crowd for the absence of Martin Sheen, the actor who played the president on “The West Wing,” who has endorsed Richardson. “I was ordered by my doctor not to travel to Iowa because I have a severe, contagious cold that would not allow me to fly,” Sheen said in a letter of support for Richardson, which was read to the crowd before the New Mexico governor spoke.

Before the speech began, Jim Uhl, a welder from Des Moines, explained why he supported Richardson.

“He’s got more experience with foreign policy, and I like what he’s done with veterans programs in New Mexico,” said Uhl. “His health care policies are a big thing too. My wife has medical problems and we have a hard time paying the premiums. We may need to get a divorce just so she can get some kind of health care.”

When Richardson was working the crowd before the speech, he and Uhl exchanged a high five.

*NOTE: After this post was published, the Richardson campaign wrote saying they estimated 500 people at the event.

Washington Post Profile of Governor Richardson

The Governor: Bill Richardson

Sunday, December 16, 2007; A25

Bill Richardson has the most coveted title in the Democratic field: governor. It's supposedly the best path to the presidency. Add to that former congressman, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and secretary of energy. As President Clinton said when he nominated Richardson to the latter post: "If there's one word that comes to mind when I think of Bill Richardson, it really is energy."

In Iowa, the New Mexico governor has consistently polled behind the three front-runners but ahead of his two seasoned Washington rivals, Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Christopher J. Dodd, occupying all by himself "the middle tier," as Des Moines Register political columnist David Yepsen defined it.

Richardson, 60, draws his sharpest distinctions on Iraq. All the Democratic candidates agree that the war must end, but he has outlined the most ambitious timetable, vowing to bring U.S. troops home in a year. Richardson's plan is viewed by many experts as unrealistic, but he has made it the centerpiece of his campaign, returning to the Iraq crisis again and again on the stump.

Richardson raised the war issue on Thursday at the Des Moines Register debate, expressing concern that Iraq had been pushed to the sidelines as Democrats squabbled over domestic issues such as health care and education. "I am going to focus on one issue because I am concerned about the fact that in the media and in the last debate, the Iraq war was not discussed," Richardson interjected. "Somehow we are losing sight that this is the most fundamental issue affecting our country."

Richardson is a low-key campaigner who strides onstage in a rumpled sports jacket and cowboy boots, riffing about his life and ideas, answering every question with interest and concern. He has traveled throughout rural Iowa, courting conservative Democrats who like his executive bona fides and pro-gun background.

Richardson is a champion schmoozer. While campaigning for governor in 2002, he shook 13,392 hands in an eight-hour period, breaking former president Theodore Roosevelt's world record.
During his years in Congress, Richardson served as a special envoy on sensitive international missions, securing the release of hostages, American service members, and prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, Cuba and Sudan.

Richardson is half Hispanic, and as a child he lived in Mexico. He said his bicultural identity "has enhanced my ability to be a public official, to be a diplomat, to understand other points of view."
The distinction is particularly pronounced on the subject of immigration. Richardson addresses it more confidently than other Democrats, asserting that tougher border security and a path to citizenship must go hand in hand. Whatever the crowd, his observations about immigrants draw applause. "If you explain things rationally," Richardson said, "voters will understand."

Full coverage of Richardson on washingtonpost.com

-- Shailagh Murray

Governor Parris Glendending Endorses Governor Richardson for President

Glendening backs presidential candidate Richardson

December 13, 2007

Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening endorsed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for president yesterday, citing the fellow Democrat's commitment to environmental protection and fighting global climate change.

"As secretary of energy, he was a leader on mass transit and smart growth issues," Glendening said in a statement released by the Richardson campaign. "As governor of New Mexico, he has turned around an economy while also protecting the environment."

A former two-term Democratic governor, Glendening is best known as a champion of anti-sprawl development policies. Richardson said he welcomed the endorsement because Glendening is "a leader on energy and environmental issues."

[David Nitkin
Copyright © 2007, The Baltimore Sun

Governor Richardson to Speak at DNC Winter Meeting in Virginia

This Friday Governor Richardson will speak at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee, to be held at the Sheraton Premiere-Tyson's Corner in Vienna, Virginia. The public is welcome to attend, but please plan to arrive for registration between 9:00a.m. and 10:00a.m. The Governor is scheduled to speak at 10:20 for about 30-45 minutes.

There is no charge for this event. This is a great opportunity to meet the Governor in person and to hear what he has to say.

To RSVP, please click here.

GOVERNOR RICHARDSON IS COMING TO MARYLAND !!!!

I am so excited to report that, as a result of a lot of hard work from some dedicated volunteers, Governor Bill Richardson will be coming to Maryland for a fundraiser on November 7 at 5:00 p.m. in Baltimore. See invitation below.

Nicolas (Nico) Ramos * Bernardino (Bernie) A. Gonzalez
and special guest

Governor Bill Richardson

Candidate for President of the United States
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Arcos Restaurante 129 South BroadwayBaltimore, MD 21231
$2300 Leadership Circle* $1000 Sponsor$500 Friend* $250 Acquaintance
To RSVP please call Remy Onstad at 505-235-4953 or email at ronstad@richardsonforpresident.com or click here.

If you cannot make it to the event but would still like to make a contribution, click here.
Contributions to Richardson for President, Inc. are not tax-deductible for Federal income tax purposes, and are limited to $2,300 per individual ($4,600 per couple) per election. Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute $5,000 per election.

Paid for by Richardson for President, Inc.
Contributions are not tax deductible for Federal income tax purposes.
All content © 2007 Richardson for President, Inc.

Great story from the Chicago Tribune

Hi all! Check out this great story written by a Chicago Tribune writer and posted on the website HispanicBusiness.com that is VERY complimentary of Governor Richardson. It's pretty long, so I'll only post the first page below.


Born Negotiator
October 16, 2007
Ray Quintanilla -- Chicago Tribune

IOWA FALLS, Iowa -- The seminal moment in Bill Richardson's life came shortly before he was born. His father, a headstrong American banker who worked and lived in Mexico City, told his pregnant wife in the fall of 1947 to pack for a brief trip across the U.S. border.

So she gathered a few things and headed north to deliver her baby. In those days, border officials saw nothing unusual about a pregnant Mexican woman wanting to enter Southern California, so she crossed without incident and headed for Pasadena.

The boy arrived a few days later -- a native born U.S. citizen -- and without as much as a tour of the community, the two returned home.

That moment, and the delicate balancing that it suggests, began the lifelong conflict that Richardson has had with roots. People read his name or hear his voice, and they think Anglo. People see his mestizo features or listen to him address an audience in fluent Spanish, and they think Latino.

His life has been a straddle of those two worlds. Often it has required negotiation and nuance, but largely Richardson has proved remarkably adaptive and adoptive. He endured being derisively called "Pancho" by classmates at his elite U.S. prep school, but later in life has repeatedly found himself comfortable precisely because people don't always see him in one dimension. He has made an art form of being able to understand what his adversary wanted and using that to get what he wants. He has had side tours to negotiate with dictators, to free hostages, to get a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist out of jail in Darfur.

He is a gun-toting Westerner schooled in the northeast. He is the rare Red Sox fan who can also cheer for the Yankees.

So it is hardly surprising that he chose a career in politics, and employed a style that does not see compromise as a bad thing. In public life, he has had an unbroken string of successes, from Tufts University to Congress to a Cabinet post to the New Mexico Governor's Mansion.

And, more than anything, William Blaine Richardson is trying to persuade Americans that his resume and life experience make him the most qualified candidate to be the next president of the United States.

His heritage makes his candidacy unique, but also creates its own set of burdens. On the stump, Richardson often raises the issue first, such as when he was addressing an all-white audience recently in Iowa Falls: "I'm Bill Richardson, and though I might not look like a Richardson is supposed to look, I'm a Latino," he tells a crowd of 200.

"I want you to know my father was an American," he adds, as though the emphasis is needed.

It is typical of Richardson, posing the uncomfortable question himself, then providing the answer. It's a disarming, self-effacing, even humorous side that has helped his upstart candidacy make its way to the middle of the pack, with hopes that should the leaders falter, voters will turn to him.

Yet Richardson can also be defensive. He has snapped when questioned about this identity, especially by those who disagree with his views on immigration and U.S. relations with Mexico.

Such flashes, though, are rare. Richardson is clearly a candidate at ease in the press-the-flesh, slap-the-back retail politics of Iowa. There is a physicality to him that only seems to help, as if he is ever ready to wrap someone in a huge hug.

He is strapping and 6 foot 3, a former college baseball pitcher with professional potential. He is also portly, and some have even measured the seriousness of his presidential ambitions by the inches he had lost from his ample waistline.

Read the rest of the story by clicking here.