More Bill Richardson's Quest

• Presidential campaigns court Richardson's big-name New Mexico backers
• TRIB TALK
• Phill Casaus: Bill Richardson still has his eye on Washington, D.C.

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*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

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

The UFO candidate

The Sarasota Herald Tribune wrote this weekend about a lobbyist who says a Hillary Clinton/Bill Richardson ticket would be most receptive to UFO openness.

See, the lobbyist, Stephen Bassett, executive director of the Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee, or X-PAC, says Bill Clinton flirted with opening government documents into supposed alien incursions, and Richardson openly advocated such action during his years in Congress and as governor.

The Kates are ever amazed at just how far single-issue voting can go.

A very quiet endorsement

The Kates aren't sure how they missed this, but it took a blog called "The American Conservative" to tell us the National Council of La Raza endorsed Richardson last week.

"The National Council of La Raza as well as many national Latino civil rights organizations and pro-immigrant groups announced . . . their solid support of New Mexico state Gov. Bill Richardson for U.S. president. . . . Richardson speaks perfect Spanish, and his mother was born in Mexico. He is married, for over 30 years to his high school sweetheart, Barbara, who was born in Nicaragua."

Richardson would probably prefer a stronger effort at getting the news out, but hey, support is support.

Speaking of Spanish . . .

Richardson has co-signed a letter by Christopher Dodd protesting that Univision's Spanish-language debate now won't be held in Spanish. Both speak fluently and were the first two to sign on to debate on the - ahem! - Spanish-language network, which now says the debate will be in English and translated into Spanish.

Chocolate-chip politics

In case you're in Iowa next week, Richardson will appear at a "Cookies and Conversation" event at Drake University, hosted in part by our sister paper in Denver, the Rocky Mountain News.

We're just hoping he isn't asked to produce a cookie recipe.

Still a second-ran

The Nevada Appeal assesses the prez field for possible vice presidents and puts Richardson at the head of the Democratic class:

"He's a middle-of-the-road candidate, a Westerner who understands that government isn't the answer to every problem. His experience as a congressman, Cabinet secretary, U.N. ambassador and governor makes him the best-qualified candidate for president, hands down.

"He is also unique in that he is Hispanic, which is the fastest growing voter block in the country, but he's still perceived by White America as one of them. He doesn't have a Hispanic name, and he doesn't fit the stereotype of what too many Americans think of as Hispanic. It's sad to think that racism is still a prevalent part of America, but it is, and it can flourish in the privacy of the voting booth. Richardson is a nonthreatening bridge between political cultures, like Tiger Woods was to golf.

"There's a chance Richardson could break through and win the nomination, but right now he's looking better as a choice for VP. He would certainly be on the top of the list for any of the possible nominees. If Hillary wins, I'd almost guarantee that Richardson will be her running mate. And if Obama wins, he will want someone with Richardson's experience to back him up."