I met Bill Richardson in NYC last night!

[Renew Deal]

I was walking to Penn Station from work on 7th Ave. As I approached the back door for Broadway's Mama Mia, I saw a face that I recognized. It was Gov. Bill Richardson. I turned into a 14 year old girl at a 'nsync concert. I said "hi Mr. Governor. Nice to meet you." We shook hands. Then I said "I hope you run for president in 2008." He said, "you'd vote for me right." I said "of course."

It was very nice and I was all excited about it. Spare me the "no thank yous." Richardson isn't my first choice and this post isn't about that anyway. It was just nice to meet a good Dem like him.

[Eloriel]

1. Yeah, there are a lot of good things about him -- incl. that he seems

like a genuinely nice person. Glad you got to meet him.

[Al-CIAda]

2. DLC, election fraud denier, etc...

:thumbsdown:

[Renew Deal]

3. That didn't take long

:)

[Adelante]

5. lol

It never does :D

[Adelante]

4. That's so nice, Bleachers

Nice you were so polite, too. :)

It's great to get to meet our Dem leaders, no matter what.

[itzamirakul]

6. And a very good way to show

some love, encouragement and enthusiasm for those Democratic leaders who need to be reminded that WE are out here and paying attention to what they do.

Whether we would vote for him or for someone else, I think you did a really nice thing for all of us and especially for him. I bet it made him feel good for the rest of the evening.

[Pirate Smile]

7. He is an interesting guy and being Hispanic and Western makes him an

interesting option.

I wonder why he was in NYC instead of DC for the DNC Winter Meeting? I saw his speech to them yesterday.

[pstans]

8. RIchardson seems like a nice guy

Richardson seems like a nice guy and would help in the SW in a Presidential race.

But there is one thing that I have been wondering about. Richardson stated before the election that he guaranteed New Mexico would go for Kerry. Well it didn't. Some complained that Richardson didn't do enough campaigning for Kerry. There were rumors/evidence of fraud. Again, Richardson didn't do too much. Why? If Richardson really wanted to run for President then it would have been in his best interest for Kerry to not win. Once it looked like Kerry lost Ohio, then Richardson played it safe cause he didn't want to harm his reputation for his next campaign.

With that said, I'd vote for a Feigngold/Richardson ticket in 08.

[Renew Deal]

10. Who's fault is it that the Democrats didn't contest Ohio?

Or any one of the other states. It's easy to lay blame. Kerry lost this thing by 3 million votes and over 100,000 in the one state that could have turned it. Even if Richardson could have challenged something in NM, it wouldn't have made a difference in the race. Also, the pukes were pissed because Richardson stalled certifying NM. I'm not sure what else he could have done.

[nmvisitor]

13. Outstanding politician - but definitely not a nice guy

Overall, I think Bill Richardson has been a great governor for us out here in NM. He can be very heavy handed though, and he wields his considerable political power in a brute-force manner that we have never seen here. He carries grudges and punishes those who cross him in even small ways - even his fellow Democrats. That's kind of fun to watch when you agree with him (which I usually do), but I wonder about it sometimes. There are at least a few prominent Democrats in NM who would probably stick a knife in his back, if they thought they could get away with it, and they will likely get their chance during the run up to the 2008 elections.

[Rhiannon12866]

23. According to Greg Palast, John Kerry won New Mexico

And yes, he alleges fraud. In case you've forgotten, Greg Palast is the investigative journalist who exposed the shenanigans in Florida during the 2000 presidential election and wrote about it in "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy."

Here's the column he wrote just after the election. It's called "Kerry Won. Here are the Facts." He says that Kerry really won both Ohio and New Mexico and explains what happened. He gets to New Mexico in the fourth section.

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=392&row=1

[corbett]

9. Can't Share Your Enthusiasm

He allowed wholesale partisan and racial disenfranchisement during the 2004 election cycle and then tried to block legitimate recount efforts by assessing ungodly fees and permitting voting machines to be purged in clear violation of state and federal law.

He betrayed his constituents, party and race and I'd rather stay home on election day than vote for him!

[Renew Deal]

11. I know, I should have spit on his shoes.

:eyes:

[steelyboo]

18. don't be such a smartass. You obviously come to these boards often

and you should know what his reputation was on these boards over the last few months. Sorry it disturbs you that most of us think he is not such a good guy, but you posting things like that are not going to make us like him anymore than we did before. Face it, the guy has a bad rep. All the horn tooting in the world from you aint gonna change it.

[Renew Deal]

21. I'm not being a smartass.

I know what some people think his reputation is. There is no proof that "most of us think he is not such a good guy." I did not post this for you to like him. I posted it because it happened. I will not face that he has a bad rep. He is very popular in his state and with other Democrats. A few pissed internet posters isn't going to change that.

[reichstag911]

12. Anyone like Durbin?

I'm here in IL, so I don't know what the national take on him is. From what I've seen, though, he's been one of the most vocal challengers of the BFEE bullshit from the beginning, unlike a lot of the moderate, DLC, Repug-lite hacks that were too afraid of the Rove slime machine to speak out. :think:

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. I LOVE Durbin! He's my Senator too.

:loveya: He would be a great candidate for Prez. Or a VP for Wes Clark. ;)

[Rhiannon12866]

24. I think Dick Durbin's the greatest!

He's not my senator, but I've seen interviews with him, especially on Al Franken's show, and always heard good things about him. I'm really pleased to learn that my perception was accurate. You're fortunate to have him as your senator! And, yes, he seems very outspoken and great at challenging BFEE!
:yourock:

And welcome to DU, reichstag911!!! It's great to have such an informed voice from Illinois here with us!!!:toast:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

14. Bilderberger.

:tinfoilhat:

[Kahuna]

15. Good for you, Bleachers. You did the right thing...

Even though Richardson isn't your first choice (or mine), he should be encouraged to get involved in the process. I will be very disappointed if he doesn't get involved in some way in '08. I want all of our high profile dems with strong credentials helping to deliver our message in '08. That includes, Clark, Gore, Richardson, Hillary, Boxer, Bayh, Edwards, Kerry, Obama...etc.

[ZombieNixon]

17. Bill! Wudd're you doing in NYC? Get back here to New Mexico,

you've got work to do!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. Who was he with? Someone posted that he had girlfriend problems

[Renew Deal]

20. Security

I didn't see anyone else.

[Rhiannon12866]

22. That must have totally made your night!!! Your week!!! Your month!!!

I would have been absolutely thrilled, as well, and I can easily imagine myself saying the exact same thing!:D