A presidential candidate has to be completely sure of himself and aware of the issues to face a crowd of 300 people at 7:45 am to talk about "Preventing A Nuclear 9/11" and how to stop nuclear proliferation.
New Mexico Governor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson spoke at our Center on Politics and Foreign Relations yesterday at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and impressed our large crowd of ambassadors, journalists and graduate students with his foreign policy expertise.
Richardson is knowledgeable on the foreign policy issues of the day. His background as a congressman, United Nations Ambassador and Energy Secretary plus his frequent successful role as a roving diplomat who goes abroad to solve problems from Sudan to North Korea were readily apparent.
As he said in his talk, "I am a governor with foreign policy experience". Looking at the fact that four out of five of America's last presidents have been governors (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) and they have hailed from southern or southwestern states - Georgia, California, Arkansas and Texas - and you see in New Mexico Governor Richardson a competent and competitive Democratic candidate for president in 2008.
Saying "I am not running for vice-president" the governor made it clear that he hopes to soon be regarded as one of the front tier Democratic presidential candidates.
Re-elected last fall to his second term as governor of New Mexico with 69% of the vote, Richardson commented that "I am not a rock star" but "I will be respectable in money raising and in the end it will be up to the voters to decide."
Richardson does have more executive experience running a state than Senators Clinton or Obama or former Senator Edwards. The governor on paper looks not only like the ideal candidate for president but looks as qualified or more qualified than anyone else to be our next president. When the former UN ambassador talks about foreign policy issues you feel confident he actually knows what he is talking about and he has researched the topic. Unlike our current president, who one doubts has done his research on foreign policy issues and what he might say next, Richardson is a good and serious speaker.
The problem for a competent candidate like the governor who rides horses and is a baseball fan is to be taken seriously by a media obsessed with who raises the most money and who gets rock star type crowds.
We should forget these first, second and third tiers of candidates and concentrate on what they are saying. If people are looking for a candidate saying things that will improve America's standing in the world by working more with our allies then Governor Richardson is that person.
If voters are looking for a candidate who has been dealing on a practical level on issues like the civil war and starvation in Darfur and the threat of nuclear weapons in North Korea then the former Senate Foreign Relations staffer is their candidate.
If Americans want to see a candidate who has a detailed plan for stopping the spread of nuclear weapons to an energy plan for ending our dependence on foreign oil then Richardson would be your Democratic candidate in 2008.
Talking about his first week in the White House the graduate of Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy said on his first day as president "he would get out of Iraq".
Richardson feels Iraq has been a huge mistake and a huge distraction from what the country should be doing to "prevent a nuclear 9/11" from ever happening. He feels that this threat is being seriously neglected by the Bush Administration which is consumed by the war in Iraq.
The former chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association would "re-deploy US troops from Iraq to Afghanistan" saying "we need more troops in Afghanistan" to fight the war against terrorism more effectively.
Richardson, who grew up in Mexico City before moving with his family to New England, in his speech to our Center yesterday, stated, "It took a Manhattan project to create the bomb. We need a new Manhattan project to stop the bomb - a comprehensive program to secure all nuclear weapons and all weapons-usable material, worldwide".
Continuing on with his ideas about new Manhattan type projects the governor also stated that "on my second day as president I will start a Manhattan type project on energy use".
The second term governor of New Mexico who "has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen and political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq and Cuba" certainly has the credentials to be our next president.
Bill Richardson is a competent governor with foreign policy experience. He just might have the qualities and experience we are looking for in the next president of the United States.
He should be taken very seriously as a presidential candidate no matter how much money he raises or on what tier the media puts him on.
Richardson may not be a rock star but he certainly has the expertise along with a sense of humor necessary to be in the White House. And, face it, if you want a rock star you can always go to a concert or watch American Idol. It is time for someone competent - with a sense of humor - to be voted into the White House. It is time for the Democratic voters to take another look at Governor Bill Richardson.