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Being called an "astute politician" shouldn't be considered any more a compliment than being called a "brilliant con artist."

It means, in essence, that you're good at what you do, but it's questionable whether what you do is good for anyone other than yourself. Please hold that thought.

Presently, the stars aren't lining up for Gov. Bill Richardson and his presidential run. They're not aligned for his vice presidential or secretary of state runs, either, it appears.

In 2006, riding the crest of Republican fiscal incompetence and the misery of the war in Iraq, Democrats were the deal. Indeed, some pundits forecast a 2008 purge of Republicans.

But we, the people, have spent a year now peeking behind the curtain. We've discovered, among other things, that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and their league of flying monkeys have been long on attacks but short on vision.

The rosy media coverage bestowed early on Democratic presidential contenders is gone. Richardson's team - and New Mexico's press - were giddy with his brush with double-digit poll numbers in August and September. Today, he's a distant fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire and off the map everywhere else.

Amid his decline came more troubling news - not just for him but also for Democrats far and wide. A few short weeks ago, voters in Louisiana, a state long held hostage by Democrats, elected an East Indian-born conservative Republican governor, Bobby Jindal. Many will point to outgoing Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco's ineptness before, during and after Hurricane Katrina.

But if Richardson is anything, he's an astute politician. He likely understands that the media and his party's leadership laid nearly all of the blame for what happened to New Orleans on the head of President Bush. That Jindal could win there - only the third Republican governor in the last 130 years, and the first of color from either party - means Democrats might want to hold off a bit on plans for Republican internment camps.

This, coupled with a Harris poll finding that half of voting-aged Americans will not vote for Hillary Clinton, surely has Richardson considering his options - like running for retiring Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's job.

These events weigh heavily, one imagines, on the mind of another congressman, Tom Udall, as well. Udall cares not a whit about Louisiana Republicans, but he's likely sick from worry over a Richardson run for the Senate. He's thinking about the Domenici seat, too. But absent a statewide organization, Udall can't wait around for Richardson.

Of course, Richardson needs only to flip the switch on his local political machine - something akin to a thresher that peels the hides off challengers - and suddenly he's a former presidential candidate.

Look: Udall never has been in a cage match. Richardson thrives on them. I'm guessing Udall recognizes that fact. After all, he's an astute politician, too.