{"id":1802,"date":"2007-06-03T21:19:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-04T03:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/06\/richardson-holds-his-own-in-second-debate\/"},"modified":"2007-06-03T21:19:00","modified_gmt":"2007-06-04T03:19:00","slug":"richardson-holds-his-own-in-second-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/06\/richardson-holds-his-own-in-second-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson holds his own in second debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> followed a poor showing in the first Democratic presidential candidate debate in April with a better performance tonight. <\/p>\n

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

Though he held his own, the format of the debate wasn\u2019t conducive to helping second-tier candidates, and he did have a few poor moments. Barack Obama<\/a> and John Edwards<\/a> rose to the top in the debate, with Hillary Clinton<\/a> not far behind. Joe Biden<\/a> stood out among second-tier candidates, and was followed by Chris Dodd<\/a> and Richardson.<\/p>\n

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

No candidate had a poor showing.<\/p>\n

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

First, on the debate format: I thought CNN<\/a> did a poor job. The cable network obviously designed the evening to give the top candidates most of the attention. Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was centered in the middle, with Obama and Edwards on her left and right. Then it was Richardson and Biden and Dodd, with Mike Gravel<\/a> and Dennis Kucinich<\/a> on the ends. The camera focused on the big three in the center most of the time. They got to answer more questions and, it seemed to me, were given more time to respond.<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s about ratings. It\u2019s not a service to the public.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> only got to answer one question in the first 27 minutes of the debate. He wasn\u2019t allowed to participate much in a heated discussion about Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> that will grab most of the night\u2019s headlines.<\/p>\n

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

That said, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> appeared more competent than he did during the first debate<\/a>. On the most basic level, he wasn\u2019t covered in sweat and didn\u2019t look like he was overly caffeinated and out of control like he did last time. He appeared calm and in control of himself.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> knew all of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did well,\u201d he told Anderson Cooper after the debate, while also expressing concern that he didn\u2019t get as much time to speak as some of the frontrunners.<\/p>\n

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

According to Dodd\u2019s blog<\/a>, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> spoke for 10 minutes and 48 seconds during the two-hour debate. Obama spoke the longest \u2013 16 minutes \u2013 and Gravel spoke the least \u2013 five minutes and 37 seconds.<\/p>\n

\n

It was notable that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s wife Barbara was present at tonight\u2019s debate, a fact that was pointed out twice during the event. She was noticeably absent from the last debate, and Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> was wandering around on stage by himself after that event while other candidates talked with family members.<\/p>\n

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

I also have to note that, though I know the camera adds 10 pounds, Richardson appears to have gained back most of the 30 or so pounds he lost before entering the presidential race in January.<\/p>\n

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

Now, on to what was said: Obama, who I thought failed to answer a single question during the first debate, did an excellent job tonight of not only answering questions, but appearing strong, poised and more mature than his years.<\/p>\n

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

Edwards came out on the attack against Obama and Clinton and appeared competent and intelligent. Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> held her own, but didn\u2019t do as well as Edwards and Obama. Biden was strong \u2013 perhaps as strong as Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, though CNN\u2019s format didn\u2019t give him the equal attention that would make that easily apparent.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s strong moments<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s best moment didn\u2019t involve anything he said. It was when Clinton<\/st1:city>, speaking about how to deal with Iran<\/st1:country-region>, said the United States<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> needs \u201cthe kind of diplomacy that Bill Richardson did for my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:city> had the sense later in the debate to thank Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> for her kind words. It caused one CNN analyst to speculate that a Clinton-Richardson ticket<\/a> is in the works.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> did have some strong moments of his own, all of them in the second half of the debate. He gained the most attention by saying that, in dealing with genocide in Darfur, the United States<\/st1:country-region> should pressure China<\/st1:country-region>, which buys lots of oil from Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, to get involved in the crisis. He said the United States<\/st1:country-region> should consider boycotting the upcoming summer Olympics in China<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> if that nation won\u2019t help stop the killing.<\/p>\n

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

That set off a testy debate. In the end, only Edwards agreed with him.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> also earned applause and set himself apart when he said veterans should be able to get health care at any hospital, not be required to visit facilities in the veterans\u2019 affairs system.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSome of our veterans have to go 150 miles, especially in rural areas,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> said about the current system.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s flubs<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> exacerbated the fact that CNN let him answer few questions during the first hour when, while responding to the first two questions, he stayed to his talking points instead of directly answering questions. Wolf Blitzer pushed him back to the questions and he eventually answered them, but his responses were awkward and he didn\u2019t come across as a quick thinker.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s worst moment came during a discussion about gas prices. A few of the candidates were asked how they would lower gas prices (some weren\u2019t allowed to speak on the subject at all). Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was instead asked whether he believes oil companies are engaged in price gouging. He botched his answer by at first saying the federal government needs to give states the authority to investigate price gouging, then saying he doesn\u2019t believe oil companies are engaging in price gouging.<\/p>\n

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

If the oil companies aren\u2019t doing it, why do the states need to spend taxpayer money investigating them?<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> then tried to answer the question the others were asked \u2013 how would they lower gas prices? \u2013 and he was cut off, which wasn\u2019t fair.<\/p>\n

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

Another weak moment came when he insisted that he can provide universal health care for all without raising taxes. That, coupled with Edwards\u2019 insistence that such assertions are \u201cnot the truth,\u201d made Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> appear as one who makes promises he may not be able to keep. Edwards, though he made the unpopular pledge to raise taxes to pay for universal health care, came across as honest in essentially calling Richardson a liar.<\/p>\n

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

Others\u2019 thoughts on Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Democratic strategist and CNN analyst James Carville said Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> \u201cdidn\u2019t do as well as I\u2019ve seen him do in the past.\u201d Most commenting on the liberal blog DailyKos<\/a> thought Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> did poorly.<\/p>\n

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

Arianna Huffington<\/a> said on CNN that Richardson spent so much time \u201creminding us that he\u2019s a governor\u201d that he didn\u2019t articulate what he\u2019s doing right now, which she said was a weakness.<\/p>\n

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

On the flip side, one New Hampshire<\/st1:state> voter, interviewed on CNN after the debate, said he favors Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> after watching the debate. He said the governor \u201cseemed to be a problem solver and had practical ideas.\u201d Another said Richardson<\/st1:city> was one of his favorites, saying he was very \u201cpractical-minded\u201d and \u201cdoesn\u2019t have a lot of the jargon\u201d of the Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> insiders. CNN analyst John Roberts also said he thought Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> did well. <\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s interesting that most of the pundits generally said Richardson<\/st1:city> did a poor job, while two of the three New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> voters interviewed on CNN after the debate said he did a good job. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has been saying all along he\u2019s focusing on talking with voters, not securing big endorsements or grabbing media attention. He\u2019s been rising in the polls. Maybe it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

\n

After the debate, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s campaign Web site declared him \u201ca clear winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

You can watch the debate by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson followed a poor showing in the first Democratic presidential candidate debate in April with a better performance tonight. Though he held his own, the format of the debate wasn\u2019t conducive to helping second-tier candidates, and he did have a few poor moments. Barack Obama and John Edwards rose to the top in […]<\/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-1802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802","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=1802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}