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Richardson Starts to Break From the Pack
John Nichols
The Nation
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, whose combination of humor and unscripted responses may yet make him the John McCain of the 2008 presidential race (while McCain remakes himself as the grumpy Bob Dole of this year's contest), seems to be making a break from the also-ran pack on the Democratic side.
Several new polls from early caucus and primary states have Richardson moving up -- not quite even with the prince of the second tier, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, but up.
Consider New Hampshire, the first primary state, where a new Zogby telephone poll of likely voters puts Richardson, the former congressman, cabinet secretary and UN ambassador -- who, it happens, is running on his resume -- in a much more solid position than in the past.
According to Zogby, New York Senator Hillary Clinton's still leading among Granite State Democrats, with 28 percent to Illinois Senator Barack Obama's 26 percent. Edwards is in third with 15 percent, a number that is frankly disappointing considering the amount of time and energy he has poured into the state.
The poll has Richardson, who has gotten good marks for his debate appearances and is now promoting himself with good-humored advertisements touting what he and his backers clearly see as superior experience in domestic and foreign affairs, breaking into double digits at 10 percent.
The only other contender who registers better than 1 percent is Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, whose firm anti-war stance has gained him 4 percent.
Does this mean that Richardson is going all the way? That's still a stretch. He is better funded than many of the candidates and he has a potential base in the southwest as well as among Hispanic voters in other parts of the country.
Still, the best bet is that the governor's positioning for the vice-presidential nod. That said, he's a good deal better positioned than he was a few weeks ago -- and if he overtakes Edwards, everyone might have to alter their expectations about a Democratic race that could see a woman, an African American and a Hispanic as the top three contenders.
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In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The moment you think you got it figured...you're wrong." Mr. Rate
Breaking from the second tier pack is what it says.
Gotcha.
Krepitch is right, his ads are great and emphasize the experience you are talking about. There is one that is like a job interview when they are rattling off his accomplishments. Good stuff.
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