In the new poll by Strategic Vision, conducted Friday-Sunday and released today, Hillary Clinton leads with 40 percent in Florida, Barack Obama has 20 percent, Edwards has 16 percent and Richardson has 9 percent.
The larger poll of 1,200 likely voters, which quizzed Democrats and Republicans, has a margin of error of 3 percent. The margin of error for the questions asked only of Democrats isn’t included.
No other candidate has more than 3 percent in the new poll, and 10 percent remain undecided.
For Richardson, it’s a gain of 5 percent from the group’s June poll. It’s a loss of 4 percent for Edwards, while Obama has gained 1 percent and Clinton has climbed 3 percent.
Florida is scheduled to hold its Democratic primary on Jan. 29, the same day as South Carolina under the current but fluid schedule.
In a Mason-Dixon poll conducted in late July, Clinton was at 31 percent in Florida, Obama was at 17 percent, Edwards was at 12 percent and Richardson was at 4 percent. The newest poll is the first to show Richardson gaining any significant ground in that state. Richardson hasn’t spent any time in Florida recently.
‘Groggy guv?’
But he has been making some mistakes recently. I’ve written a lot about Richardson’s ‘choice’ gaffe at last week’s gay-rights forum in Los Angeles. Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican draws attention to another mistake and questions whether the governor is wearing himself too thin.
He notes that Richardson, while trying to explain his ‘choice’ answer on a Friday talk show, was asked whether he agrees with a statement by another candidate that “love between a man and a man is beautiful.”
Richardson did agree.
“I think that gay relationships are human decency, they’re love, they promote families. I’m for gay adoption. I think it’s very healthy because there are millions of kids in this country that have no homes,” he said.
Then the snafu.
“I’m for gays having relationships with undocumented workers, and I’ve always felt that way,” he said.
Huh?
He also said “I’ve been a Hispanic,” but then caught himself and said, “I am Hispanic.” You can hear it all by clicking here and then, in the window that opens, clicking on the clip labeled “Gay relationships are love.”
“One has to sympathize somewhat with Richardson in one respect. Most of us puny mortals would crumble if we tried to keep up with the schedule to which Richardson is subjecting himself,” Terrell wrote. “Still it raises the question: Is Richardson — whose public-relations staff for years have used the word tireless to describe him — flirting with exhaustion from the endless campaign? Would this explain the isolated non sequiturs in his public appearances, such as his unexplained reference to ‘OSHA protections’ in a recent debate when he was asked what he’d do to prevent factories from shutting down?”
Richardson’s campaign spokesman told Nash that the governor “has never required much sleep” and is getting what he needs, even though Richardson explained the ‘choice’ gaffe by saying he was tired from a cross-country flight.
It seems to me that Richardson is doing what he’s done all his life: He’s winging it. Impromptu appearances, less preparation than other candidates. I think he is a bit sleep-deprived (how could you not be on such a grueling schedule?) but so are the other candidates. They’re making up for it with good preparation. Richardson is not.
Grassroots campaigning
He’s instead focusing his time on shaking every hand, on grassroots campaigning. It’s his passion and his gift. There’s no indication that he plans to cut back anytime soon to spend more time preparing for debates and media interviews.
Richardson’s campaign has released a video that shows some of his face-to-face magic during his visit this week to the Iowa State Fair. It’s at the end of this posting.
One more note. Richardson has agreed to take part in a forum in Nevada to be held Wednesday, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Thus far, the only other candidate who has said he’ll attend, at this late date, is Joe Biden. I’ve already written about Edwards pulling some staff and attention away from Nevada, but what about Clinton and Obama?
Gov. Bill Richardson is climbing and John Edwards is falling in the newest