Having been raised in Iowa and voted in my first two presidential elections in the state, I am used to the presidential election season kicking up early, but this time around has been just ridiculously early and as a congratulations for jumping the gun the news media has rewarded Clinton and Obama with as much air-time as either of them could have hoped for.

I relocated to Minneapolis in 2005 and since then I've been wondering how I'd feel when the politicians moved in on Iowa and I was sitting on the northern sidelines.  I don't much care for it and one of the reasons is that when I talk to people in Iowa (and other states) there are only a very few who know of Bill Richardson.  I've taken it upon myself to raise his name recognition among some of my classmates from college and those in my hometown who have their hearts in the right place, but haven't been exposed yet to the best possible nominee.

To that end, I drafted a letter to send out to people that I knew to be politically progressive and likely to caucus.  I asked for their attention and spoke about Governor Richardson and why I support him.

The text of that letter is below.  I hope others are doing similar work in helping their friends and family to hear about an excellent leader who isn't get a lot of media play. 

Hi Folks:

I've decided to stick my neck out a bit and tell you that I'm supporting Bill Richardson's initial push to become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Hopefully the words I've prepared for you below can convince you to take a closer look at Bill Richardson. With a boost from strong, bright people, Richardson can get a leg up and run a viable campaign for the nomination and eventually the Presidency.

The first time I heard his name, I was working in Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico, where Bill Richardson serves as Governor. I was told how he was working to build agreement between Republicans and Democrats in a conflicted state legislature so that, in the coming legislative season, he could get a bill passed that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Governor Richardson's success in getting that bill passed is just one example of his political and diplomatic skill and I think the people of New Mexico agree--he was recently re-elected with 68% of the vote.

"Appointed by President Clinton as the Ambassador to the UN, Bill Richardson worked with world leaders to build alliances and help prevent the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Bill Richardson has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen and political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba. Governor Richardson recently negotiated a 60-day cease fire in war-torn Darfur following direct talks with rebel leaders and the President of Sudan." --drawn from the site for his exploratory committee.

We hear a lot about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but they each have relatively little experience when compared to Bill Richardson with his 15 years in Congress, his leadership of New Mexico and his record of service to the cause of international peace and cooperation.

People have said to me that they want to vote for Clinton or Obama because it is time that a woman or a person of color be President. It's hard to disagree with that inclination, given our history as a country governed by white men, but still others worry about the level of experience that either of the dueling Senators would bring to the Presidency.

Bill Richardson, a person of color himself, is not at the center of a media frenzy and perhaps that's because demonstrated competence as an international diplomat and a domestic political leader aren't sexy enough for the news. Does it make you uncomfortable that we've heard so much about Clinton and Obama, know what we know of Edwards mostly from the first time around, and we've yet to hear much of anything about the other people seeking the Democratic nomination?

Please consider talking about Bill Richardson as people begin or continue to ask you about what you think of candidates for the Democratic nomination! You can read more about Richardson's issues on his website at Link

Thanks for taking the time to read what I had to say!
-Addy