{"id":2640,"date":"2007-12-13T16:26:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-13T22:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/12\/debate-wont-give-richardson-the-boost-he-needs\/"},"modified":"2007-12-13T16:26:00","modified_gmt":"2007-12-13T22:26:00","slug":"debate-wont-give-richardson-the-boost-he-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/12\/debate-wont-give-richardson-the-boost-he-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Debate won’t give Richardson the boost he needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> had more time to speak than any other Democratic presidential candidate during the last debate before the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 3, but he squandered much of that time and failed to give the performance needed to turn around his sinking campaign. <\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:city> wasn\u2019t terrible during today\u2019s debate in Iowa<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. But, while others were great, he was not.<\/p>\n

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

Back were his refusal to respect time guidelines and his reliance on canned answers that sometimes didn\u2019t address the questions he was asked \u2013 two problems that characterized his earlier debate performances but had been absent during recent contests. Back was his self-deprecating humor, which he had gotten away from in recent months.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:city> had three truly memorable moments \u2013 all at the end of the debate \u2013 and none will earn him support in Iowa<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> because none addressed a serious issue:<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Asked about his controversial tenure as energy secretary, which is remembered for security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said that, in 25 years of public service, \u201cthere were probably many other mistakes that I made.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019ve made a lot of gaffes, and I\u2019m glad you didn\u2019t raise them. But I\u2019ll stand behind my record as energy secretary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

His campaign released a follow-up answer to the question 90 minutes after the debate ended stating that Richardson<\/st1:city> increased security during his tenure \u2013 a sure sign that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> botched his answer during the debate.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Asked about his New Year\u2019s resolution, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said it is the same every year \u2013 \u201cto lose weight, and I\u2019m going to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Asked what lessons he has earned from campaigning in Iowa<\/st1:state>, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> elicited laughter when he said he has learned that Iowans \u201clike underdogs and you like to shake things up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou\u2019re tough, you scrutinize, you look into our eyes and hearts, you know the issues,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been blessed to be part of this process. Now I hope you vote for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

According to a posting on Chris Dodd\u2019s Web site<\/a>, Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> spoke more than any other candidate, getting 14 minutes and 27 seconds during the 85-minute debate. Barack Obama<\/a> came in second, getting 12 minutes and 44 seconds.<\/p>\n

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

But Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> didn\u2019t use the time well. Asked when tax increases are necessary and appropriate, he instead talked about getting rid of a tax cut for the wealthy, balancing the budget and ending the war. Asked how he would turn a push for energy independence into a net benefit, Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> instead laid out the points of his plan to reach energy independence.<\/p>\n

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

Meanwhile, Obama, Hillary Clinton<\/a>, John Edwards<\/a> and Joe Biden<\/a> were strong throughout the debate.<\/p>\n

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

One of the main reasons is that they\u2019re all articulate speakers who think quickly on their feet. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is not. Coming off several years with a president from the other party who defines the phrase \u201ctongue-tied,\u201d Democrats are looking to elect the anti-Bush, not a candidate who is sometimes not much better than Bush at articulating his views.<\/p>\n

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

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

Gov. Bill Richardson had more time to speak than any other Democratic presidential candidate during the last debate before the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 3, but he squandered much of that time and failed to give the performance needed to turn around his sinking campaign. Richardson wasn\u2019t terrible during today\u2019s debate in Iowa. But, while […]<\/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-2640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640","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=2640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}