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Gov. Bill Richardson jumped on the presidential bandwagon this morning, revealing in English and Spanish on his just-launched Web site that he's in.

The site was activated just as Richardson was telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he's the man for the job.

In an interview taped by the network last week in Santa Fe, Richardson said he'll outwork any other candidate, and trotted out a laundry list of his accomplishments.

"Most importantly, I can bring this country together. I'm a negotiator. I've brought countries together, closer, on peace treaties. I've rescued Americans, hostages and servicemen. What we have right now is an opportunity to deal with major issues that really are dividing this country. I have the experience, I've been in Iraq, I've negotiated with Saddam Hussein. I was secretary of energy, I increased energy efficient in our country," he said. "I've been a governor, I created 86,000 jobs in four years, I've cut taxes, I've brought economic growth to our state, I've made our schools better. I've got the strongest record on the environment and dealing with clean energy and fighting global warming," Richardson said.

"A lot of people give speeches on these issues. I've actually done it."

Even before the show aired, the secret was out: Just after 5 a.m local time, Good Morning America played a clip of an interview.

"Also, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announcing today, he'll be on 'This Week,' that he wants to run. He would be the first Hispanic president of the United States if he won. I asked him about it."

Richardson told Stephanopoulos: "I believe this country is a very tolerant, positive country. I believe the country would be ready for a woman president, an African-American president, a Hispanic president, but I wouldn't run as a Hispanic candidate, I would run as American, proud to be Hispanic, proud of my heritage."

Richardson on Monday is expected to hold a news conference in Santa Fe and to file the papers to establish an exploratory committee. He would make an official announcement soon, according to his Web site.

On his the site, www.richardsonforpresident.com, Richardson talks about energy, the economy and the war.

"The next president of the United States must get our troops out of Iraq without delay," he said. On 'This Week,' he was more specific, saying the United States should set a timetable for phased withdrawal that has U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by year's end. He also said troops should be redeployed to Afghanistan to wage the war on terrorism.

The bilingual governor was born in Pasadena but grew up in Mexico City until he was a teenager. His Mexican mother, Maria Luisa Lopez-Collada, still lives in Mexico. His father died in 1972.

The announcement ends months of murmurs about whether Richardson would run for the country's top job. Responding to a question from Stephanopoulos, Richardson said he had no interest in being anyone's vice president. "I've got a better job being governor of New Mexico. If I don't get the nomination (for president), I'll come back" to Santa Fe, he said.

Richardson, 59, joins several other Democrats who have also said they want to lead the United States, including most recently Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The most recent ABC poll gave Clinton a commanding lead among the potential Democratic contenders, with 41 percent. Obama was second at 17 percent, while Richardson was last on the list with 1 percent.

He now must persuade Democrats to make him the nominee against a Republican candidate for the 2008 election. He also must raise the minimum of $30 million that political observers say he'll need to make him competitive.

In November, the first-term Richardson was elected to a second, four-year stint along with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.

After his swearing-in on New Year's Day, he held an extravagant bash at two Downtown Santa Fe hotels, to which he invited 7,000 people. The fiesta, dubbed the Boots and Bolos Inaugural Ball, even featured hundreds of jars of Gov. Bill Richardson Inaugural Salsa. Attendees were given plastic blue wristbands, with his and Denish's name on them, akin to the yellow bracelets made popular by cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Richardson, whose name doesn't have the same cache as Sen. Hillary Clinton, is nevertheless not an unknown in national politics.

He served in Congress from 1983-97, when then-President Bill Clinton tapped him to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. A year later, Clinton appointed him as the secretary of the Department of Energy.

In the past year, Richardson has made several trips to the East Coast, New Hampshire in particular. He was in another early-primary state, South Carolina earlier this month.

Money from his re-election campaign has gone to Democratic candidates in places like Nevada, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Kansas.

During his career, he's negotiated with world leaders and travled to the farthest reaches of the world, including earlier this month to Sudan, Africa, to negotiate a cease-fire between government groups and rebel factions.

After he had returned and announced that he'd brokered a deal, one group, representatives of the Sudan Justice and Equality Movement rebuffed him, saying they had not agreed.

Richardson late last year also went to Sudan to secure the relase of journalist Paul Salopek, who was detained there for more than a month.

As governor, he's solidified his Democratic base, but also befriended Republicans with initiatives including tax cuts and economic development packages.

Richardson, if elected, would be the nation's first Hispanic president. His mother is Mexican and lives in Mexico. He was born in California and raised in both Mexico and Boston.

Already, he's made state history by raising the most money Í nearly $14 million Í for his 2006 gubernatorial race. He flew through his first term, pushing an increase in the state's minimum wage, a commuter train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, a $250,000 life insurance policy for members of the National Guard.

This legislative session, he wants tax cuts, is still pushing a wage increase and wants a $250 million road improvement package.

Richardson's wife is Boston native Barbara Richardson. They live in the Governor's Mansion in Santa Fe and have no children.