Richardson: The Diplomat

Governor Richardson demonstrated his strong diplomacy skills when he recently met with the Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez regarding the release of three American hostages.  These hostages are in addition to six whom were recently released from Colombia; the men were taken after their plane crashed in the country in 2003.  Bill Richardson made clear that he was not attending the meetings as a representative of the government  (he is no longer a U.N. ambassador); rather, Richardson decided to engage with Chavez and Uribe on request from the families of the three hostages.  Prior to his visit, Richardson discussed the situation with the Latin American musical artist Juanes and Colombia University's professor Aldo Civico.  

Does the name Robert Reich ring a bell? Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's Labor secretary, did as anticipated earlier this afternoon and announced his endorsement of Barack Obama. Is bill Richardson creating the wave of support for Obama? In other news Richardson said that the state needs to find a way to partner tourism with New Mexico's successful film industry. He addressed attendees at the Governor's Conference on Tourism on April 17 in Roswell.
"No Country for Old Men" and "3:10 to Yuma" showcased our spectacular landscape," Richardson said. The film industry had a $480 million economic impact on the state in 2007, he told the conference participants, and more than a $1 billion impact over the last five years.
James Carville tagging Richardson as a "Judas" for rejecting Clinton and endorsing Obama in the Democratic presidential sweepstakes has pretty much receded. But who decided to back Richardson from this blow?...His 94 year old mother came out and had a few things to say to Carville after he said that to her beloved son.
In interntional news, Seasoned negotiator Richadson plans to visit Venezuela next month to discuss the fate of three American hostages held by rebels in Colombia, said a U.S. official on Friday. Richardson was in Colombia last week for talks with President Alvaro Uribe on the U.S. defense contractors held since 2003. Hopefully Richardson has some luck in this matter.

Richardson's Endorsement of Obama

After his indirect endorsement of Obama in the beginning of March, Governor Richardson (also a superdelegate) finally officially endorsed the Democratic candidate on March 21st.  Governor Richardson revealed that Barack Obama's speech on race cinched the deal on his decision, for as a Hispanic-American, Richardson believes Obama "is a man who understands us."  After criticism by some Democrats over his decision to endorse Obama over Clinton, Richardson responded saying, "I am very loyal to the Clintons. I served under President Clinton. But I served well.  And I served the country well. And he gave me that opportunity...But you know...it shouldn't just be Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton." After accusations by Clinton aides of Richardson's "betrayal" to the Clintons, Richardson responded by saying he was "very close to endorsing" Hillary but changed his mind when her campaign became negative.