The best Hispanic VP choice says he is not interested - but who knows:
Governor Now a Minority Magnate
Richardson assumes role as political powerbroker when it comes to Hispanics
By BARRY MASSEY | Associated Press
Gov. Bill Richardson is staking out a prominent role in the 2004 presidential election, but it isn't an attempt to line up the No. 2 spot on the Democratic presidential ticket.
Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, has moved front and center nationally in trying to solidify the Hispanic community as a power base for Democrats in 2004 -- and in future elections.
It's a role that could serve the governor well if he seeks national office.
"I think he is positioning himself to be one of the Hispanic kingmakers," Adam J. Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University, said in an interview.
It was Richardson who appeared on television screens across the country at the start of Thursday's debate of eight presidential candidates.
The governor delivered welcoming remarks to the audience of the debate, which was aired live on public TV stations. Importantly for Richardson and his mission, the debate is being rebroadcast -- in Spanish-- by Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language TV company.
"I challenge Hispanics across the country to mobilize and energize our communities for next year's election," said Richardson, who spoke in English and Spanish.
Richardson reaped tons of attention this week as network television crews and national political reporters from across the country arrived in Albuquerque for the first of a series of debates by the Democratic presidential candidates. Richardson was ready, willing and able to answer questions and sit for TV interviews.
And a frequent question from the national news media focused on speculation that Richardson is a prime contender to join the Democratic presidential ticket as the vice-presidential running mate next year.
The governor has long maintained he's not interested in national office -- at least for now -- and would seek re-election in 2006 to another four-year term.
But the vice-presidential questions have persisted.
Finally, Richardson issued what in political circles is known as a Sherman statement -- a reference to Civil War Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's declaration of non-candidacy in 1884.
"If asked, I will not accept. If drafted, I will not serve," Richardson said Thursday about the vice-presidential nomination.
In seeking to clear away the underbrush around his political future, Richardson can concentrate on an immediate task with longer-term dividends: securing Hispanic votes for the Democratic ticket in 2004, and strengthening Hispanic influence within the Democratic Party for future elections.
The governor has formed a national political committee, "Moving America Forward," to help in his work.
"Our objective will be to unify the Hispanic community in the country -- Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Hispanics in New Mexico, across the board," Richardson said earlier this year in announcing the organization.
Segal said Richardson is stockpiling potentially valuable political capital as he tries to mobilize Hispanic voters and shape the Democratic agenda.
Hispanics represent the country's largest and fastest-growing minority group.
Richardson "recognizes that he has an opportunity, if he devotes his fund-raising capacity and his time resources over the final months of a general election campaign, that he will be able to move that agenda forward, help position the (Hispanic) community better and ultimately if he succeeds at that, help better position himself for national politics," said Segal.
But to help solidify his credentials nationally as a can-do Democratic leader, Richardson also needs to succeed at home with his policies of tax cuts, which he advocated as a way to stimulate economic growth, and funding for school changes.
Richardson touted those New Mexico policies in welcoming the national debate audience: "We're an example of what's possible with the right agenda and the right leadership -- Democratic leadership. And we can do the same in Washington."
Editor's note: Barry Massey has covered state government and politics in New Mexico since 1993. |
