Gov. Bill Richardson is set today to unveil his universal health-care plan and participate in a union-sponsored candidate forum.
Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential candidate is getting attention because of a new article highlighting his funny television commercials. Also, several new polls show he’s not gaining much traction outside the early primary states.
Richardson is scheduled to release his health-care plan this afternoon in a speech to a firefighter’s union in Iowa.
“My plan focuses on guaranteeing universal coverage, keeping down the cost of care for all and improving care in general,” Richardson said in a news release. “My plan provides affordable health coverage choices to every American without raising taxes.”
Richardson has already unveiled a summary of the plan but is expected to get into specifics today.
The announcement is timed to coincide with the televised AFL-CIO Democratic presidential candidate forum, which will be shown live on MSNBC beginning at 5 p.m. MST. Each candidate submitted opening video statements that you can watch by clicking here.
“I’m looking forward to talking about my plans for universal health care, the economy and jobs,” Richardson said in a release. “It’s an honor to be able to address so many of our nation’s great working men and women.”
Meanwhile, an article today in The Politico takes a look at “Richardson’s comedy tour” in Iowa. Richardson’s funny “job interview” television ads have gained him a lot of attention there, and he’s holding a series of events designed to play off the commercials. A link to the article is posted on other national politics sites today.
It’s worth checking out just for the photograph of Richardson. He isn’t the most photogenic guy in the race, but this one is one the campaign should keep.
Meanwhile, new polls conducted by American Research Group in California, Alabama, Missouri and Georgia have Richardson at between 3 and 5 percent – hovering around the margin of error – and not gaining much traction. Georgia hadn’t previously been surveyed by the group, but Richardson is up slightly in the other three states since the last times they were surveyed. Overall, however, he’s not gaining a lot of ground there.
With the exception of California, Richardson’s goal isn’t to gain a lot of traction in those states at this stage in the game. He’s planning to focus on Iowa and New Hampshire, with a secondary focus on Nevada and California, believing that strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire will propel him to big gains in presidential nominating contests that follow, especially those in the West.
We’ll see.
Gov. Bill Richardson is set today to unveil his universal health-care plan and participate in a union-sponsored candidate forum.