New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s ambition for the White House is hardly a secret, but the rumors and widely-held beliefs are quickly becoming stated facts.
Although Gov. Bill Richardson has been coy since last November’s election about whether he plans to run for president in 2008, he has told party leaders he will run, according to a Monday report by The Associated Press.
Richardson is one of several Democrats and Republicans mentioned in the report. The story didn’t provide any details as to which party leaders Richardson talked to or when he allegedly told them.
Richardson spokesman Billy Sparks downplayed the story — but he didn’t deny it.
“As the governor has said many times before, he is focused on this legislative session, running for re-election and being chairman of the Democratic Governors Association,” Sparks said. “After that, the governor has said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ “
When Richardson ran for governor in 2002, some in New Mexico expressed concerns publicly that he would jump in the 2004 presidential race and forgo a full term as governor. At the time, Richardson gave voters his word and skipped the race. Now he’s gearing up for the 2006 governor’s race — but is side-stepping questions about whether he’s committed to serving through 2010.
This isn’t exactly subtle.
As for whether Richardson will be a good presidential candidate, he brings a lot of attributes to the table. He’s a wildly popular governor of a competitive but “Red” state, he’s Roman Catholic, and he’s Hispanic. Richardson has executive experience outside the beltway as a governor, executive experience inside the beltway as a cabinet secretary (Dept. of Energy), he was a popular member of the U.S. House, and his foreign policy background includes a stint as Clinton’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and a respected international negotiator. Not a bad résumé.