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Richardson Endorses Obama
By Patrick Healy
The New York Times
Friday 21 March 2008
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who sought to become the nation's
first Hispanic president this year, plans to endorse Senator Barack Obama for
the Democratic nomination on Friday at a campaign event in Oregon, according
to an Obama adviser.
Mr. Richardson, a former congressman and energy secretary in the Clinton administration,
dropped out of the Democratic race in January after finishing behind Mr. Obama
and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the first nominating contests in Iowa
and New Hampshire.
Since then, both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton have aggressively courted Mr. Richardson
for his endorsement. Mrs. Clinton had also deployed her husband, and Mr. Richardson's
former boss, to seek the governor's political support; former President
Bill Clinton watched the Super Bowl in February with Mr. Richardson, and both
Clintons had spent time on the phone trying to persuade him to back her candidacy.
In a statement explaining his endorsement, which was provided by the Obama
campaign early Friday morning, Mr. Richardson hailed Mr. Obama's judgment
and ability to be commander-in-chief - qualities that Mrs. Clinton has
called into question in recent weeks on the campaign trail.
"I believe he is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring
our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world,"
Mr. Richardson said in the statement. "As a presidential candidate, I
know full well Sen. Obama's unique moral ability to inspire the American
people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship
and reconciliation."
Mr. Richardson based his candidacy in large part on his strong opposition to
the war in Iraq and on calls for an immediate and total withdrawal of American
troops from Iraq. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton both support a steady but carefully
paced withdrawal of troops; Mr. Obama, however, was an early, consistent opponent
of the war, while Mrs. Clinton voted in 2002 to authorize military action in
Iraq and supported the war in its first years.
As a governor, Mr. Richardson is a super-delegate who would have a vote in
the nominating contest if neither Mr. Obama nor Mrs. Clinton ends the primary
season in June with a lead in the delegates amassed during the 2008 primaries
and caucuses. Mr. Obama now has an overall lead of 148.5 delegates, according
to an analysis by the New York Times; a candidate needs 2,024 to win the Democratic
nomination.
Moreover, as the nation's only Hispanic governor, Mr. Richardson could
become a champion for Mr. Obama among Hispanic voters, who have been a key voting
bloc for Mrs. Clinton in the primaries thus far. And his endorsement is also
notable because he is a friend and admirer of Mrs. Clinton, and was widely viewed
as a possible running mate for both her and for Mr. Obama.
Mr. Richardson served as ambassador to the United Nations under Mr. Clinton,
and has also worked as an official and unofficial troubleshooter for the government
on foreign policy issues and crises, drawing on his extensive contacts overseas
such as with leaders of North Korea.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama has the judgment and
courage we need in a commander in chief when our nation's security is
on the line. He showed this judgment by opposing the Iraq war from the start,
and he has show it during this campaign by standing up for a new era in American
leadership internationally," Mr. Richardson said in his statement.
In a prepared statement, Mr. Obama said:
"Whether it's fighting to end the Iraq war or stop the genocide
in Darfur or prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists,
Gov. Richardson has been a powerful voice on issues of global security, peace
and justice, earning five Nobel Peace Prize nominations," Obama said in
a statement.
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