+ teams well without needing to compete for the front position (I believe the stakes are high for this to be considered most important characteristic, though those listed below are also crucial:)

+ demonstrated ability to govern,
+ strong record supporting middle-class,
+ strong record supporting women,
+ strong record supporting minorities (Latinos being especially important, since for some reason Obama has failed to connect with them as strongly as one might expect considering the positions he supports),
+ strong record of effective diplomacy,
+ nobel peace prize nominations recognizing effective diplomacy couldn't hurt,
+ nobel peace prize nominations recognizing effective guarding of the country's national security wouldn't hurt,
+ intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the DOE couldn't hurt: the DOE is closely tied to the DOD--this knowledge implies understanding the inner workings of our nation's top security issues,
+ close relationships with allied international heads of state,
+ demonstrated peacemaking ability with enemies, while not compromising the nation's security and interests,
+ strong bipartisan connections,
+ appeals to fiscal-conservatives,
+ strong record of effective energy policies,
+ strong record of cost-effective governance,
+ understanding of how energy dependence, Iraq, and our nation's financial crisis are interconnected.

Only one person fits this description: NM Democratic Governor Bill Richardson.

Bill Richardson, alone, was repeatedly asked by the Bush Administration to negotiate with "bad guys" because he, alone, had the DOE/DOD and diplomacy background and expertise to understand how to conduct an effective negotiation without giving away the farm or compromising national security.

Bill Richardson is trusted by Democrats and Republicans alike to represent our national interests.

He has demonstrated governance ability, as one of the nation's most popular governors, maintaining a balanced budget while adding 80,000 new jobs, bringing his state under Kyoto energy emissions levels, and promoting the middle class standard of living, building a multi-million dollar shelter for abused women, replacing the district attorney and adding court advocates for women resulting in raising the percentage of DV cases prosecuted by 20%, and creating a state-wide public non-polluting transportation system that gets anybody, including elderly, homeless, and those who cannot afford to buy cars, wherever they need to go for $2 one-way--while the rest of the nation depends upon increasingly unaffordable fuel, with each individual who drives 10 miles each way to/from work now paying $3630 for gas annually and contributing 5500 lbs of C02 into the atmosphere.

Never in history, I believe, has a crossroads of leadership been so critical in determining our country's future direction. Lacking intelligent leadership, undesirable change will certainly occur.

Scholars from Harvard, University of Chicago, and other luminaries participating in think-tanks across our country know that diplomacy, not war, is the solution to our country's problems. Brilliant minds across the country, committed to peace, are working overtime developing solutions that our leadership needs to listen to before considering any action, domestic or international. Targeting citizens of our country for financial ruin is not acceptable. There are answers to this. Dispensing with discussion, allowing diplomacy to fail before it is even tried, shooting first, asking questions later, shock and awe, is also not acceptable. War should always be the last resort.

Obama is clearly the most qualified person to lead a team that inspires the country to demand intelligent diplomacy first, war last.

The best military minds in our country should be an integral part of Obama's team. A military person should not, however, co-lead the team, because to a hammer everything looks dangerously like a nail.

http://mom-of-three-journal.blogspot.com/