This article has been updated.
People were lining up at 5:45 a.m. to see President Barack Obama later today in Rio Rancho. That’s according to The SCORE’s Eric Maddy, who will be covering Obama’s visit for this site.
Obama’s town-hall meeting on credit card debt is scheduled to last from 10-11:15 a.m. If all goes as planned, you’ll be able to watch it live right here via embedded video from KNME-TV in Albuquerque. Shortly after the event, look for Maddy’s coverage here as well.
And during the event, while you’re watching, you can participate in a live blog hosted by the New Mexico Independent.
There are, of course, political questions about today’s event, the most notable being what role Gov. Bill Richardson will play. Richardson and Obama will meet before the event, according to the Albuquerque Journal, but whether Richardson will appear on stage with Obama is a question that has yet to be answered.
Today’s will be their first public encounter since Richardson withdrew his nomination to be commerce secretary because of the ongoing probe into allegations of pay to play in his administration.
Regardless of whether Richardson is on stage with the president, the state GOP is trying to link the two in a news release sent last night in which Republican Party Chairman Harvey Yates “noted the similarities between the Obama Administration’s out-of-control spending practices and those of the Bill Richardson and Diane Denish Administration.”
The release is really about the 2010 election.
“The spending increases which have occurred under the Democrats’ watch have been staggering,” Yates said. “With pay to play and other financial scandals dogging the Richardson-Denish Administration, New Mexicans are ready to restore ethical leadership, accountability and fiscal responsibility to state government. We do not need more of the same under the next administration. The state needs to implement major reform that can only come about by giving Democrats a ‘time out’ and electing Republicans to office. We need a real two-party system in this state.”
Update, 9:25 a.m.
Here’s another photo from Maddy, this one of Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack being interviewed by MSNBC by phone at the site of Thursday’s presidential visit.
