Obama secures coveted Richardson endorsement
The New Mexico governor joined Obama at spirited rally yesterday and said the Illinois senator demonstrated his leadership abilities this week with his speech on race. “You are a once-in-a-lifetime leader,” said the governor at the rally. “Above all, you will be a president who brings this nation together.”
Richardson dropped his own bid for the nomination in January. His support for Obama comes during a tough period for the senator, the leader in the delegate chase over Hillary Clinton. Obama has seen his lead in national polls wither as he has grappled with the fallout from divisive remarks by his former pastor. Richardson was relentlessly courted by both candidates and his support for Obama represents a potential counterweight to Clinton’s strength among Hispanic voters.
As a Democratic superdelegate, the governor could bring other superdelegates to Obama’s side. He also had been mentioned as a potential running mate for either candidate.
No primaries are scheduled until Pennsylvania’s on April 22, a gap Obama hopes to use in asserting that he is the front-runner for the nomination. Richardson backed Obama despite his ties to Clinton and her husband, the former president. Richardson served as ambassador to the UN and as secretary of the energy department during Bill Clinton’s administration.
Richardson praised Hillary Clinton as a “distinguished leader with vast experience”. But the governor said Obama “will be a historic and great president, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad”.
The Clinton campaign was publicly dismissive of the endorsement. Citing the former first lady’s victory in the New Mexico primary in February, senior strategist Mark Penn said: “Perhaps the time when he could have been most effective has long since past.”
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