Bill Richardson was good on Countdown last night, talking about the situation in the Middle East. (Here is a link to the video of his appearance. It wasn’t loading or playing when I tried, but they may correct that soon so you can see it.) I could support him for president. He has quite a résumé: Congressman, Ambassador, Cabinet Secretary, Governor. In some ways he may be the most qualified person for the job in 2008. If qualifications mattered, he might be a shoo-in. Of course we know that the main thing that matters is how good a politician he is. He could be the most qualified person for the job, but if he’s not a good politician we can pretty much forget it. There is another factor that I am almost embarrassed to mention: Richardson is Hispanic. Is the country ready to elect an Hispanic president? I think Richardson stands a better chance of being elected than Hillary Clinton does. These days presidential calculus revolves around one main factor: Red States vs. Blue States. I think Richardson would carry all the Blue States, and compete extremely well in some Red States, partly because he is Hispanic.

Here’s what MyDD had to say about Bill Richardson:

As former U.S. Energy Secretary, Governor Richardson would bring credibility to efforts to end U.S. reliance on foreign oil and to look at alternative, renewable energy sources. As former Ambassador to the UN, Richardson has foreign policy credibility and relationships with world leaders. He's the only candidate besides Senator Clinton who has first-hand knowledge and/or experience with U.S. policy in the Middle East, which is what currently dominates our country's agenda. As Governor of a state (New Mexico) that has gone red in recent years, he has proven that a Democrat can appeal to swing voters. And as Governor he would bring experience in the Executive branch of government that the previous candidates lack. Governor Richardson is also a Latino, and could secure an important voting bloc in both the primary and general election.

The only negative I see is that if Hillary Clinton runs, she will take away some of Richardson's support and funds, which he needs to get his name recognition up nationally. Though his polling numbers are low now, I expect Governor Richardson will raise his national profile in the months leading up to Iowa and New Hampshire and become a force to be reckoned with. If he's not the nominee, he should be seriously considered for Vice-President.

I like Bill Richardson. He didn’t sound like an extreme lefty on Countdown. In discussing the situation in the Middle East he sounded very reasonable and articulate, like a Diplomat who knew what he was talking about. Our country could use some of that after so many years of George War Bush.

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