Governor Richardson has been nominated 5-times for the Nobel Peace Prize, is loved by labor, is highly experienced in foreign policy having negotiated successfully with the worst regimes, has been an extremely successful Governor of a red-state growing jobs/improving education/raising teachers' salaries/raising wages and re-elected with 68% of the vote, is a former Energy Secretary--one of the critical issues for at least 2 decades to come--is pro-2nd Amendment, hails from the West....and, he also happens to be Latino.
Richardson fits beautifully Barack's theme of change, and unity. The latter is part of his DNA. During the debates he kept urging his competitors to remain positive...I was recently at a luncheon headlined by Governor Richardson supporting the re-election of another Western Democratic Governor, Christine Gregoire of Washington. He spoke without notes. As he got to the end of his speech the audience spontaneously rose, began cheering and yelling, and the crescendo kept rising forcing Richardson to shout into the microphone in order for his last sentences to be heard. This in the laid-back Northwest!
Unique Merits. Bill Richardson is a unique figure in American politics. He is a successful Governor who has delivered on matters such as improved education, job growth, better healthcare and the environment. At the same time he has been nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and has been a successful international crisis negotiator. When North Korea wanted to start talks about their nuclear program with the United States, whom did they call? Governor Bill Richardson.
Getting those talks started was classic Richardson. They called him ostensibly to retrieve the remains of a US soldier killed during the Korean War. The Governor of New Mexico went to North Korea and participated gratefully, non-arrogantly in the ceremony, and used it as an occasion to get the talks cranked up. North Korea is one of the most dangerous regimes in the world. But, they trust Richardson. A Richardson Vice-Presidency might enable them to trust the US enough to resolve their nuclear issues, and thus make the world a much safer place.
He could have touted this in his primary campaign for President. Negotiations are sensitive matters, and he knew that injecting this directly into the campaign could make a successful outcome more difficult. So, for the good of the country and the world, he said little about it.....again, classic Richardson. That's true patriotism. A successful Governor of a red state. A seasoned, experienced and trusted diplomat. A former Energy Secretary in a period where energy independence and clean fuels will be a key issue. A man who, on his own initiative, reversed a half-century of denial by both Republican and Democratic Administrations, and got billions of dollars of compensation for radiation workers who had been injured working on our national defense.
Thematically, like Obama, Richardson also represents change. "Change you can believe in" will be buttressed by "change that works", because Richardson has actually brought major change to what was one of the country's poorest states. That is change that many parts of the country seek. Moreover, Richardson is genetically predisposed to unity and transcending phony differences, exactly Obama's message. Let us be also blunt about the political knock on Richardson. With Obama-Richardson there are two "people of color" on the ticket. The good ethnic news--it bridges a supposed gap between the two groups. The good political news--it shows that such considerations, if not passé, are at least not dispositive.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the progressive politics of change to win a landslide victory, change forever the map of American politics, and deliver on policies that the majority of Americans have wanted for decades, and to make the world a better and safer place.
Let us not blow it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-abrams/for-a-change-turnout-new_b_103206.html
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He's a traitor..... no way... a Judas!!!
barbsadoll10 3 years ago
great vid!
kawika8087 3 years ago