First By a Day, Romney Due Next

Richardson Whips Through Wyoming, Touts Energy Balance

By Gil Brady, 8-21-07

	"Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico lands in Jackson, Wyo., Tuesday"/By Andrew Wyatt

JACKSON, Wyo. – The first presidential hopeful of the 2008 campaign season to visit Wyoming touched down Tuesday evening at Jackson Hole airport.

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, one of eight Democrats vying to become the next president of the United States, entered the Cowboy state by chartered jet last night, likely beating former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts by less than a day when he landed here at 8:37 p.m.

Running over two hours late because of a breakdown with his original flight out of Las Vegas, New Mexico, Richardson scrapped a scheduled airport news conference.

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Before jumping into a black SUV, whisking his small entourage of friends and aides to a fund-raiser of about 35 guests at the Jackson home of art dealer Gerald Peters, Richardson fielded a question about why, with Wyoming’s traditional-based economy in fossil fuels, voters here should consider him and his clean, alternative energy proposals.

“I believe Wyoming has enormous potential to get 2,000 percent of its power from wind,” Richardson said while standing on the gusty tarmac as dusk fell behind the darkening Teton mountains. “It’s got the resources. Its budget, like New Mexico’s, is in good shape.”

The candidate added he was worried about greenhouse gas emissions “threatening Yellowstone’s eco-system,” encouraging Wyoming to convert its gangbusters coal production to cleaner methods. He also said the United States and Wyoming had to strike a balance between fossil fuels and clean energy to remain competitive with Japan

Following his Jackson stopover, Richardson is scheduled to visit Nevada.

Iowa Debate Focuses on Iraq & Prayer

During Sunday’s televised debate in Iowa, The Washington Post reported, leading Democratic presidential contenders “sounded a note of caution about a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq in a largely civil debate” that returned to the familiar themes of experience and electability.

Amid digs from Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Richardson over his foreign policy approach, Sen. Barack Obama listened calmly before fending off charges of his relative lack of political experience.

“You know, to prepare for this debate, I rode in the bumper cars at the state fair,” Obama said, drawing laughs from the audience.

On the topic of change and experience, Richardson won applause from the crowd and big laughs from Clinton and his other rivals when he quipped: “I think Senator Obama does represent change. Senator Clinton does have experience. Change and experience. With me, you get both.”

During the debate, Senators Obama, Clinton and Biden expressed grave reservations over a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq of loyal Iraqis, American troops, equipment, private contractors and personnel in Baghdad’s heavily fortified “Green Zone.”

Earlier this year, Richardson became the first candidate to call for a vote to “de-authorize” Congress’ constitutional authority for making war in Iraq – a move aimed at taking the power to continue the war out of President Bush’s hands.

In May, Clinton and Sen. Robert Byrd, (D-W.Va.), proposed repealing the Senate’s 2002 resolution authorizing force in Iraq. Under the bill, Bush would be required to seek Congress’ blessing to continue operations in Iraq.

On Sunday, Richardson expanded his views on ending the war, telling the audience at Drake University in Iowa: “To end this war, we have to get all the troops out. All of them. Our kids are dying. Our troops have become targets. If you leave any residual forces, then none of the peace we are trying to bring can happen.”

Answering a question about the power of prayer to “prevent” or “lessen” disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the recent Minnesota bridge collapse, Richardson’s response was in line with the Democratic theme that prayer and faith are important but private matters unlikely to change the course of big events.

“I’m a Roman Catholic,” Richardson said. “My sense of social justice I believe comes from being a Roman Catholic. But, (in) my judgment, prayer is personal. And how I pray and how American’s pray and for what reason is their own decision. And it should be respected…I think it’s important that we have faith; that we have values. But if I’m president, I’m not going to wear my religion on my sleeve.”

Richardson’s long resume: World Diplomat and Security Woes

Twice-elected New Mexico’s governor, Richardson is also a former Clinton-era Secretary of Energy, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and congressman. Fluent in Spanish, Richardson is the son of an American and his 90-something-year old mother who currently lives in Mexico City. If elected, he would be the nation’s first Hispanic president.

Richardson offers Democratic voters an unique array of credentials, qualifications and ideas, raging from an endorsement from the National Rifle Association, for his strong pro-gun views, to who the U.S should deal with on the world stage.

New Mexico’s governor has said as president he would meet with foreign leaders whom President Bush has shunned such as Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syria’s Bashar Assad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has called Bush “the devil.”

“You don’t make peace with your friends. You make peace with your enemies,” Richardson told Austin’s Star-Telegram in March.

In May, during a grilling on “Meet the Press,” Richardson told host Tim Russert that he had gotten rid of his stock in a controversial oil company, but was not against oil companies per se.

“I’m not against oil production. I strongly favor renewable energy, and I believe the oil companies, you know, should not get the tax breaks they’re getting.”

But the most intense questioning was Russet’s badgering of Richardson about his tenure as energy secretary and allegations of stolen nuclear secrets by Taiwan-born Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee, and “lax security” at the nation’s nuclear labs.

Russert pressed Richardson about his public comments at the time, assuring Americans that their nuclear secrets were “safe,” which flew in the face of the findings of a presidential intelligence board.

Those issues, plus Congress’ criticism of Richardson’s handling of the alleged nuclear secret’s breach and the botched case against Lee, likely ended his chances of becoming Al Gore’s running mate in 2000.

After telling Russert that much of the criticism leveled at him during his stint as Bill Clinton’s Energy Secretary was “probably true,” the governor cited his energy-saving initiatives that made such household appliances as air conditioners “30 percent more” efficient. He also credited his travels to OPEC countries as energy secretary with helping with “oil prices,” and that he and President Clinton made “significant advances in our nuclear proliferation initiatives with Russia and loose nuclear weapons.”

The governor of New Mexico also reminded Russert of his campaign with DOE officials to push through Congress a program to compensate nuclear workers for their medical cases.

Regarding the Wen Ho Lee scandal and cleaning up the energy department, Richardson insisted, “But I took action. I increased funding for cybersecurity. I ordered (unpopular) polygraph tests for some of the employees.”

Third in Iowa: On the Rise or Plateauing?

Sunday’s Iowa debate moderator, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, began by describing a three-way tie for second place among Democrats in Iowa. Obama leads likely caucus voters with 27 percent, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, with Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina gaining 26 percent among Iowa Democrats. Richardson, according to the same poll, was in third place at 11 percent.

This December or January, unless New Hampshire moves up its caucus, Iowa stands to be the first state to hold a Republican and Democratic primary vote.

Richardson might be the most qualified and seasoned of the eight Democrats eyeing the White House—in terms of federal policy-making, international relations and executive experience running a state—who still struggles with the top-tier name-recognition separating him from Obama, Clinton and Edwards. More than one donor at Tuesday’s fund-raiser said they only realized Richardson’s long and impressive resume within the last two weeks.

“I’ve been converted,” the college-age daughter of a donor said after meeting and listening to Richardson speak on energy and Iraq for about an hour before the governor left the fund-raiser, jetting out of the state Tuesday night for a Wednesday radio interview. “He really knows so much about everything.”

Jackson Hole Second in Nation in Per Capita Giving

Over the last two years, politicians and candidates of all stripes—such as New York Governor and former federal prosecutor Eliot Spitzer, Democratic national chairman Howard Dean and Vice-President Dick Cheney, who owns a home here—have been quietly zipping in and out of this northwest Wyoming valley—which includes Wilson, Kelly, Moose, Teton Village and Jackson—to tap the choicest wallets and purses of the county’s roughly 19,000 citizen.

Romney is slated to arrive in Jackson today, coming off a GOP Iowa straw poll victory last week – albeit in a field missing two of his toughest rivals: former New York City Mayor Rudi Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

To date, Romney leads all 2008 presidential candidates in raising funds inside Teton County, taking in at least $72,000 so far.

Today’s fund-raiser for Romney is scheduled to be held on a ranch in Wilson.

According to two on-line government accountability Web sites, Teton County has given $5 million to candidates since 2000. It also ranked second in the nation in per capita 2004 campaign contributions, averaging over $40 a person.

However, those figures are expected to change dramatically over the 2008 presidential cycle.

Local organizers say so far 100-140 people have pledged at least $1,000 for Romney’s fund-raiser here and about 35-40 have pledged up to $2,500 for Richardson’s Tuesday night rally.

Both candidates’ events here come on the heels of a gathering earlier this month at the home of famous attorney Gerry Spence for Democratic national chairman Howard Dean, which netted an estimated $85,000.

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