From the letters to the editor in the Des Moines Register today:

Like many Iowa Democrats, I take our first-in-the-nation caucus as a serious responsibility. With that in mind, it was particularly disappointing to read the Register's Dec. 16 endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

While the endorsement talks about Clinton's preparedness to lead the nation, the reality is that we need a Democratic candidate who is qualified and is a mediator, who can get elected and heal this nation. Clinton will do the opposite, just by being there. The endorsement says that "unfortunately, for many Americans, perceptions of Clinton, now 60, remain stuck in a 1990s time warp."

Boy, does that say it all: Perception is everything. Clinton's very presence is divisive. Even if she were to win the nomination, she cannot win the election. Suggesting that she carries too much baggage is an understatement.

I have been a Bill Richardson supporter since this past spring when his TV ads introduced him, and I maintained my support through the Harkin Steak Fry and the Jefferson Jackson dinner and after listening to all of the candidates. I have had lots of opportunities to give in to the media's forcing the top three candidates down my throat and to be swayed by other campaigns at events.

Richardson and Clinton are not alike. Bill Richardson is the most qualified candidate on all fronts, but he is a mediator who can regain trust and respect internationally for our country. He can draw Republican and independent voters next November and win the election. Clinton cannot.

- Sean Sullivan, Cumming, Iowa.

While I know that everyone in American politics is supposed to have some ulterior motive behind everything they do in public, everything in my experience has indicated to me that Richardson's position on Iraq is genuine. Richardson isn't alone, either. The latest CNN poll on Iraq showed public sentiment for total withdrawal sharply rising to 39%, a clear plurality nationwide. Further, residual forces wouldn't even be an issue in the campaign were it not for Richardson. No matter what happens when the voting starts, and no matter what you may think of Richardson otherwise, that is an important contribution to the campaign. And yes, it is one reason not to be cynical about American politics.

You have served magnificently. Now you are coming home.

Perhaps they think that because fewer of our troops have died lately that Americans don't care anymore. Well, we do and I dare the media to tell the families of the 37 troops who were killed last month that this issue doesn't deserve front-page coverage.

In 2004, Richard Gephardt went negative on front runner Howard Dean, and Dean counter attacked. Voters in Iowa were turned off. Two candidates with positive messages, John Kerry and John Edwards, came from behind to win. Six weeks before the election Kerry was polling in the mid teens and Edwards was still in the single digits.

Could we be soon witnessing a repeat of 2004? Clinton, Obama and Edwards are locked in a tie for first place, and the race is starting to heat up. As reported by Iowa political commentator David Yepsen:

The 2008 Edwards doesn't sound much like the 2004 Edwards Iowa Democrats came to admire. Now, he sounds increasingly sharp-edged in campaign stump speeches that often border on class-warfare politics. He's started flaying away at the Clinton years in the White House. He and Obama talk about Clinton's support from lobbyists. Clinton has started pushing back about Obama's lack of experience, recently pointing out that living for a few years in a foreign country as a child hardly makes you a foreign-policy expert.

Back and forth it goes. At one level, it's a good thing. Democratic caucus-goers are entitled to vet candidates and see them probe one another's weaknesses before the GOP does it in the November campaign. But Democrats have to be careful about this stuff. Edwards' negativity mars the sunny, moderate image that served him well in 2004. Obama's attacks distract from the politics of hope he likes to preach. Clinton's attacks just undercut her efforts to change her image as a cold-hearted candidate.

Richardson holds a firm grip on fourth place in the race. He's done that with a combination of hard work - he's been in 98 counties - a positive message and some genuinely humorous television advertising earlier in the campaign. "I sense a lot of grass-roots momentum, especially in rural areas," Richardson said in an interview. He packed more than 200 people into the meeting room at the Saylor Township fire department on Saturday afternoon last week. They were mostly older and blue-collar union Democrats, the kind of folks who show up at caucuses. "We're getting huge crowds," he said. "I sense this race is not over. Polls show 50 percent undecided. There's a lot of fluidity. Iowans are known for making up their minds at the last minute."

New Mexico Bill Richardson has barnstormed 95 of Iowa's 99 counties, wooing rural Democrats with his pro-gun record and urban caucus goers with his aggressive Iraq withdrawal plan. He has fielded questions on every imaginable subject, from term limits to the space station. The Richardson style is frank but casual. He leans forward in his cowboy boots, fists jammed in his suit pocket.

. . .His niche is the positive moderate, similar to Edwards circa 2004. Indeed, Richardson is trying to eat into Edwards' support among working class, small town caucus goers. "I think Edwards tends to attract the same people I need to attract," Richardson said. His events also draw large numbers of older women - part of Clinton's target audience. "I like her, but I think she's too polarizing," said Mary Kathryn Gepner, a librarian who attended a Richardson event in Mt. Ayr, and lists Edwards and Richardson as her first and second choices.

The following video will give you a sense of how Iowa voters are responding to Richardson. Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSUepIkRBOk

What vision is Richardson articulating for America when he speaks to Iowa voters? Richardson recently outlined his vision for our nation at the end of a speech on a new farm policy for America:

Unfortunately, in Washington today there's too much negativity. Negativity over health care. Negativity over immigration. But when I travel around Iowa, I see something different. I am reminded again that we are a positive nation, founded on inspiring principles.

I see a place where character is more than the contents of your bank account. Where leadership means more than a list of things you plan to do. Where your neighbor's word is more important than all the smooth talk in the world. I see a people who reward those who work hard; but also recognize that even the hardest workers cannot do it alone.

I see a nation attached to our land, but rooted in our values. I have a vision of America in ascendancy. It's a vision that all our people, whether they are in blue, red our purple states can share.

This is America. We landed a man on the moon. We built the internet. We beat the Great depression. We defeated the Nazis. We routed the Soviet Union in a global battle over the future of the planet. So my message for all those who are pessimists, those who are negative, those who are angry is this: We can do it.

To those who said I couldn't get those hostages out of Sudan -- I said I can. And I did it. To those who say we can't get a fair deal for our family farmers -- I say we can. To those who say we can't we can't revitalize our rural economy -- I say we can. To those who say we can't conserve our land and water -- I say we can. To those who say we can't spark a new energy revolution -- I say we can. To those who engage in the politics of personal attacks -- I say we can do better. If we work together, we can solve our problems. We can. And we will.

Promoted by Joaquin

If you watched, the three Democratic frontrunners said last night -- this is what they said. Hillary and Barack and John Edwards, they said setting a timetable for a complete withdrawal is irresponsible, because you can't project what the future situation will be in Iraq. And pulling out troops basically depends on the situation on the ground. Otherwise known as "the Bush plan." Hello?

Promoted by Joaquin

Zero troops! . . . Without getting our troops out you can not have a political settlement. . . . I would take all of our troops out. We need to end this war now.

We need a President that will make good decisions, trusts the American people, will address the pressing issues of our country and world and possesses values are firmly rooted in the principles of the Democratic Party.

Bill Richardson is such a person. He's also one of only four persons in America (assuming Gore stays out) that has a realistic chance of winning the Democratic nomination for President. Only Richardson, HRC, Edwards and Obama

1. poll in the double digits,

2. have organizations and offices, and

3. have enough money to advertise and run competitive races in IA, NH and NV.

Look at the latest poll from NH. Richardson is in a statistical tie with Edwards for third place and has been steadily climbing.

From the Assciated Press:

In assessing the field, Harkin agreed with polls showing Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards bunched in the lead. But Harkin said the race remains fluid. ‘‘If I had one word to describe it right now — jump ball,’’ said Harkin. ‘‘You still have probably 50 percent, 40 percent to 50 percent, of Iowa Democrats who are still open.’’ He said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson may have one advantage, a lesson Harkin said he learned from his short-lived bid for the nomination in 1992. Then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton won the nomination that year. ‘‘We tend to elect governors as president, not senators,’’ said Harkin. ‘‘People look at governors differently. Governors are sort of a mini-president.’’

Link 

It is on Iraq though, that Richardson really shines. "I believe that we need to withdraw all of our troops within six months," he writes. "Other than the customary Marine contingent at the embassy, I would not leave anyone behind. And if the embassy isn't safe, they're coming home too. No airbases. No troops in the Green Zone. No embedded soldiers training Iraqi forces, because we know what that means. It means our troops would still be out on patrol -- with targets on their backs."

We are spending $10 billion a month on Iraq, Richardson says. "Of the many ways in which Mr. Bush's ill-conceived war has distracted us from our real national security needs, this is the most dangerous," he concludes. "There is not a single sign that Iraq is improving. To the contrary, every indication is that it's getting worse, and a smaller force will do nothing to change that."

And so Bill Richardson says something that the other candidates evidently can't or won't: "A regional crisis is worthy of military intervention. A true threat to our country's security is worthy of war. But a struggle between a country's warring factions, where both sides hate the United States, is not worthy of one more lost American life."