Governor Bill Ricardson Announces!

Governor Bill Richardson Announces!

Yesterday after much speculation and to no one's surprise, the Democratic Party had one more hat tossed into the ring for its coveted presidential nomination. This one I believe is different. Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, formally announced his candidacy for the Presidency in his birth state California. I discovered that his presidential eligibility came by chance when his Mexican born mother was sent from her home in Mexico City to California by his American father while she was pregnant and thus he was born here making him legally eligible to run for office, unlike his counterpart, the Austrian born and rising star Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bill actually returned to his home in Mexico City where he apparently lived through early childhood until he was sent to schooling in Massachusetts.

This multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-geographical upbringing is the kind of life experience that is sorely missing in most candidates and should be a source of strength in Richardson. He also has a broad base of experiences that are truly unique amongst the extremely crowded field of both Democrats and Republicans. He has first hand experience with dealing with the immigration problem that vexes much of American society, since he is Governor of a border state with all the travails that this implies. He has been a peace broker cast into some of the very lairs of our most difficult adversaries for the purposes of negotiating the release of hostages, and he has done so successfully on numerous occasions and with great aplomb. For his diplomatic skills he has been nominated four times for the Noble peace prize an achievement unparalleled by any other candidate. Diplomacy seems to be a lost art in Washington these days and his appearance on the scene would clearly signal our allies and adversaries that we have not abandoned this useful tool. He has been fiscally responsible as Governor of New Mexico and has made great strides in improving public education by placing greater value on teacher’s compensation. He has been on the forefront of energy conservation and the use of tax incentives to encourage alternative energy development in New Mexico. Education and energy: two key issues facing our country.

He would be the first President with a Latino heritage and as such can utilize this common ground to forge a more strategic alliance favorable to our interests with our presently estranged Latino neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere. This by itself can be an important strategic step to strengthening our security against potential terrorist threats from our southern borders.

In these very tenuous times it is refreshing to see an accomplished candidate that seems to have no apparent allegiance to special interests groups. He may not be the leading Democratic candidate in the opinion polls, Hillary Clinton has that distinction presently, although he has risen from nowhere to a respectable 10%. ;nor may he have the financial resources available to an Obama, a Clinton or an Edwards, but his candidacy gives hope that a eminently qualified candidate can still be taken seriously without the backing of machine politics and special interest lobbying.

I will be doing more intensive research into the man and his positions, but in the meantime to paraphrase what Chris Mathews said to him on his show, Hardball last night. It's good to have you aboard Governor; you would make a fine President.