Site Map | Archives

Home › News › Local Politics

Gov. Bill Richardson tries to create buzz

Richardson still unknown beyond West, say insiders

By Kate Nash
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

related linksMore Local Politics
related linksMOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

related linksTRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.
STORY TOOLS

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

SANTA FE — He rules the headlines here.

And Gov. Bill Richardson is starting to get ink in nearby states like Texas, Colorado, Nevada.

So how well does Richardson the presidential candidate come off in the rest of the nation?

The Tribune checked in with professors, bloggers and reporters in other parts of the country to see what kind of buzz he's created, how his TV skills rate, what techies think of his Web site, what endorsements he might receive, and what his chances of raising enough money to win might be.

Buzz

So far, our self-described underdog governor doesn't appear to be generating much chatter elsewhere.

U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hogging the spotlight.

"Richardson is invisible in Florida with Obama and Clinton in the state several times already with max publicity," says Roger Handberg, chairman of the political science department at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Although, Richardson is somewhat known in the Sunshine State for one thing - and it doesn't play well with everyone.

"There are clearly mixed emotions about his pushing a state spaceport, which further undercuts Florida's already shaky space future," Handberg said.

Richardson visited Florida during the weekend, his first trip to the state since he launched his presidential campaign a month ago. He'll be back there tonight.

Richardson is expected to soon visit South Carolina, where he doesn't seem to be doing much better buzz-wise.

"I don't think he appears on the radar screen here in South Carolina, as far as I can tell," Colin Pearce, a professor at the University of South Carolina in Beaufort, wrote in an e-mail.

"It's all Hillary as far as the Democrats are concerned, thus far, I would say."

That could change. Richardson late last week named two staffers from South Carolina to his campaign.

What about Montana? The governor has little name recognition beyond university circles in the Treasure State, but Jim Lopach, a political science professor at the University of Montana in Missoula, says Richardson seems like a regular guy.

"He is probably best known for being a quasi-minority candidate, a freelancer in diplomacy, and the Clinton aide who tried to get Monica Lewinsky a job outside of Washington."

Lopach rates Richardson a four out of five - with five being the best - for his ability to appear genuine.

"He seems to be quite strong in his interactions with media and voters," he said. "He appears to be a genuine and regular guy."

Reason magazine's David Weigel said Richardson is at the top of the second tier of candidates.

"He doesn't make headlines nationally, in part because he's promised not to attack other candidates," Weigel, an associate editor and political columnist, wrote via e-mail. "If he proposed a global warming fix the same day Obama had a $2 million fund-raiser, Richardson would be bumped to the back pages."

On-camera personality

The Tribune asked a few theater professors to critique a video posted on Richardson's Web site. The video, called "New Mexico's Comeback," is meant to highlight his achievements as governor.

Philip Auslander, who teaches performance studies at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said Richardson needs to relax.

"If I were Bill Richardson's acting coach, my main advice to him would be, `Loosen up.' It is common in the theater for directors to say to actors: `Have fun with it.' That is what Richardson needs to do - to seem more engaged, more personable, more as if he's enjoying himself."

Richardson speaks clearly in the ad, Auslander said, but is monotone and expressionless.

"He comes off as serious, but also stiff and not very personable," Auslander said. "To his credit, however, he doesn't seem overly scripted."

Another ad that Richardson filmed, this one for his second gubernatorial race in 2006, played well in Wisconsin, said Oliver Kiefer, the fund-raising chairman for the College Democrats in Madison.

"I wouldn't call him a household name, but I'd put him in the tier right below that. His commercial, the Old West-style one, did get a few people talking," Kiefer wrote.

The commercial featured the governor wearing cowboy boots and spurs, riding his horse and bellying up to the bar for milk.

Web site

Richardson's two-person Web team has some fans.

"With regard to Richardson's present competition, I definitely see his Web site as the winner, at least in the Democratic realm," said Kingsley Anderson, owner of Webport Design in Albuquerque.

"While BarackObama.com has many of the networking links Richardson does, the graphics are not as rich, lacking depth and color," he said. "VoteHillary.org lacks many of the professional qualities of either (Richardson's or Obama's) site."

And while Richardson's site, www.richardsonforpresident.com, has patriotic colors, it needs a way to syndicate or automatically send updates to those who sign up so people can get the latest dish on the campaign, Anderson said.

Fund-raising

In California, a key fund-raising state, the Legislature is pondering whether to move its state primary to Feb. 5.

Louis DeSipio, a political science professor at the University of California in Irvine, said that could be bad for Richardson, in part because the governor will have trouble coming up with the money to do well there.

"It would be a very expensive campaign that would rely on lots of advertising and campaign organization, resources that he is unlikely to have by early February 2008," DeSipio said.

DeSipio, who focuses on Latino politics, gives Richardson a score of one out of five for his ability to raise money.

Richardson earlier this month held a fund-raiser at Sandia Resort and Casino where his campaign said he raised $2 million.

As for how his cash stacks up against the other candidates, more will be known at the first filing date in mid-April.

Endorsements

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright - whom Richardson succeeded as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations - is stumping for Clinton. Albright, in a mass e-mail sent Monday, asked Democrats to contribute to Clinton's campaign.

Hollywood media mogul David Geffen hosted a fund-raiser for Obama last week.

Richardson's campaign on Monday wouldn't release a list of his endorsements, saying it will roll them out soon.

There's no word yet on whom former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will support now that he's out of the race. Richardson, however, is headed to Iowa later this week.

As for attracting influential Hispanics, DeSipio gave Richardson a one out of five in this category but said it's early in the race.

"Outside of the early primary/caucus states, Democratic influentials are waiting to see how the candidates do in the pre-campaign period."

Chance of winning

Reason magazine's Weigel gives Richardson a two in this category, saying he "needs help/collapses by others."

And F. David Levenbach, a political science professor at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, also gives Richardson a two out of five.

"It's early, and it's going to be a long, long campaign," Levenbach said. "Can Richardson hang in there and look respectable while the others chew each other up?"