{"id":1131,"date":"2007-01-21T08:46:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-21T14:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/richardson-i-can-bring-this-country-together\/"},"modified":"2007-01-21T08:46:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-21T14:46:00","slug":"richardson-i-can-bring-this-country-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/richardson-i-can-bring-this-country-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson: ‘I can bring this country together’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

White House bid is finally official<\/span><\/p>\n

Gov. Bill Richardson announced today that he is seeking the Democratic Party\u2019s 2008 nomination for president. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The worst-kept secret in New Mexico became official with an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC\u2019s This Week (click here<\/a> to read the article and here<\/a> to watch a video clip) and was followed by an interview with the Albuquerque Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a westerner. This is a new area that is fertile for the Democratic Party,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> told Stephanopoulos. \u201cBut most importantly, I can bring this country together.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said he will be able to compete with the star power of candidates like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI will outwork anybody. I\u2019m a westerner. I\u2019m a governor. Governors have good records in being elected president because we balance budgets, we deal with health care, with education,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe I can be competitive in raising money.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe next president must be able to make us energy independent, must be able to make schools better, create jobs, give the American people, every American, a fair shot,\u201d he told Stephanopoulos. \u201cTo get that done, you need real-life experience. All I\u2019m saying is, a lot of these folks can make speeches about all these things. I\u2019ve actually done it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In it to win it<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Some speculate that Richardson is really seeking the vice presidential nomination because he will have trouble raising the $100 million most think it will take to win the primary and he has lower name recognition than others. He was mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate to Al Gore in 2000 and interviewed for the job by John Kerry in 2004.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said doesn\u2019t want the No. 2 job.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not interested in being vice president,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got a better job as governor of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. If I don\u2019t get this nomination, I\u2019ll come back and be governor. This is not a strategy that leads to another position.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> told the Journal that, though he is only forming an exploratory committee at this point \u2013 the same thing Clinton and Obama have done \u2013 he is running.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely. I\u2019m going to run. That\u2019s on the record. I\u2019m going to run,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Focusing on legislative session<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said he won\u2019t make a \u201cformal announcement\u201d until after the legislative session ends on March 17, and that\u2019s the reason he is forming an exploratory committee now instead of a full campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do some now, but most of the fundraising and travel will come after the legislative session ends,\u201d the Journal quoted him as saying. \u201cMy priority is the session and getting my agenda passed, and this has slowed down our efforts a bit, but I feel that New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> \u2013 those who elected me \u2013 deserve my attention to get our agenda passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI think a formal announcement should happen when you do the rollout and you\u2019ve signed up supporters,\u201d he said. \u201cI am not going after the endorsements (from) politicians. I\u2019m going to go straight for the people, as I always have. It\u2019s voters. It\u2019s grassroots. I\u2019m going to go focus on primary voters who will cast their votes in January (when the first four primaries will be held).\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Campaign based in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:city> said the campaign will be based in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. Most staffers will work out of an office in Albuquerque<\/st1:city>, but there will be a small office in Santa Fe<\/st1:city> for Richardson and Dave Contarino, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s former chief of staff and his right-hand man. Contarino will run his presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> acknowledged being an underdog, but said he is \u201ccomfortable\u201d in that position.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe race is a year away,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 A lot of these other candidates can have positions on the major issues affecting the country. I\u2019ve actually done it. I\u2019ve created jobs. I\u2019ve brought renewable energy. I\u2019ve settled some conflicts. I\u2019ve had experience with Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. I know what we need to do internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> also said he knows he is \u201cnot going to be competitive with the higher-tiered candidates\u201d in fundraising, \u201cbut I will be competitive. I\u2019ve raised money nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The top tier includes Clinton, Obama and John Edwards. Most analysts place Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> at the top of the second tier of candidates.<\/p>\n

After the session ends, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> told the Journal he will be traveling a lot, but will be \u201cin constant phone communication. I\u2019ll be here a lot, too. I will not neglect my duties as governor after the session.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> asked New Mexicans to support him.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot together \u2013 jobs and education, health care, we\u2019ve improved the state,\u201d the Journal quoted him as saying. \u201cMy interests will always be for New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. If I\u2019m elected president, I will take care of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Links<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can visit Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s exploratory committee home page by clicking here<\/a>. The site includes a long video detailing Richardson<\/st1:city>\u2019s take on how he has turned New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> around in his four years as governor.<\/p>\n

\n

The Albuquerque Journal began today an in-depth series on Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s life. You can read Part One of the series, on his youth in Mexico<\/st1:country-region> and Massachusetts<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, by clicking here<\/a>. You can read a sidebar with more depth on his Mexico<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> days by clicking here<\/a>, and another on a medical deferment that kept him from being drafted during the Vietnam War by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can read the Albuquerque Tribune article on Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s announcement by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can read the Associated Press article by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can read the Reuters article by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a video Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s campaign posted on YouTube of the governor making his announcement (You can watch it in Spanish by clicking here<\/a>):
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White House bid is finally official Gov. Bill Richardson announced today that he is seeking the Democratic Party\u2019s 2008 nomination for president. The worst-kept secret in New Mexico became official with an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC\u2019s This Week (click here to read the article and here to watch a video clip) and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}