Full Name: William Blaine “Bill” Richardson

Current Office: Governor of New Mexico, elected 2002 (first term)

Born: Pasadena, California, on November 15, 1947

Education: Tufts University (1970); Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1971)

Religion: Roman Catholic

Family: Married to Barbara Richardson; no children

Significant Career Experience:

Governor of New Mexico, 2002-present
U.S. Energy Secretary, 1998-2001
Ambassador to the United Nations, 1997-1998
U.S. Congressman, NM-03, 1982-1997


Publications:

Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life (2005)



One can easily make the point that Bill Richardson would be the most qualified of any prospective Democrat to run for presidential office in 2008, with 15 years experience in the House of Representatives, tours of duty as the Ambassador to the United Nations, and tenure as Secretary of Energy and as Governor of New Mexico.

Richardson’s already attracted national interest, ending up on the short lists for Vice President for past presidential nominees Al Gore and John Kerry. He’s been a fixture in the national news on issues of energy, foreign policy, and now state issues, going toe-to-toe with the toughest the Republicans send his way.

Even with his impressive and far-reaching background, possibly the most distinctive advantage Richardson brings to the 2008 primary is his Hispanic heritage. Richardson can convincingly make the argument that now is the time for an Hispanic candidate, with the Hispanic vote very much in play and targeted heavily by Republicans.

With the emergence of energy as a leading national issue, especially energy security, Richardson’s service as Energy Secretary will give him a breadth of experience no other candidate can match. In a multi-candidate field caulked full of qualified candidates, if Richardson chose to “own” the energy issue he could pick up a sizable constituency primed for a presidential candidate to campaign on the issue.

Richardson also boasts a sizable national network of political and fundraising contacts. He’s the current chair of the Democratic Governors’ Association, a position that puts him in close contact with the party’s major funders and fundraisers, growing his already impressive Rolodex even more. Richardson has used this position to increase the awareness of state issues and to push democratic governors to the forefront of shaping the national democratic agenda.

It’s also worth noting that the only Democrats to win national office in the last thirty years have been governors of swing states. Richardson can point to a very successful first term, during which he showed leadership in passing good, popular budgets, cutting taxes, and positioning New Mexico for future economic success. In a crowded primary environment dominated by several well known current and former senators, this successful executive experience is sure to stand out. As of February 2006, New Mexico gave him an approval rating of 64% (Survey USA).

While Richardson has no glaring weaknesses, he has found himself in the middle of some compromising political situations. He was implicated in leaking Wen Ho Lee’s name to reporters for giving away nuclear secrets months before Lee was ever charged with a crime, and recently it was revealed that he—knowingly or not—exaggerated his baseball career by falsely claiming he was drafted by a major league team while in college. His other glaring weakness is his obstinate disobedience to his self-professed religion of Roman Catholicism. Even when publicly reprimanded by his bishop, Richardson persists in advancing agendas that are totally at odds with his professed religion such as embryonic stem cell research and abortion on demand.

Richardson’s greatest challenge heading into 2008 will be to create a buzz around his candidacy. Right now he’s the most impressive candidate who is talked about least, and he’ll have to begin making some more noise to boost his candidacy higher up on the list.