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From Governor Richardson
I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner.
We left Iowa at 11 last night and got into New Hampshire at 3 this morning. I've been doing events all day and I have to head out in a few minutes for a television interview.
While it might not look like it from the headlines, we accomplished a lot in Iowa. And I have you to thank for that, Seth.
Your trust was not only inspirational, it gave us the resources to run a very competitive campaign.
We mobilized nearly 20,000 voters and took 7% of the caucus-goers in the first round. But given the unique nature of the Iowa caucus process and the unexpectedly large turnout, we weren't able to hold onto all of those votes into the final round.
As I'm sure you've heard by now, I am not giving up. And I don't want you to, either.
If we learned anything in Iowa, it's that this race is still very fluid. And our folks in New Hampshire tell us that a lot of voters there are re-thinking their positions in light of what happened last night.
Suddenly, "inevitable" doesn't seem so inevitable anymore.
Right now I'm focused on tomorrow night's debate. And shoot, the way I look at it, I made the "Final Four"!
I'll be in touch,
Bill
Bill Richardson has the experience necessary to be an effective leader. I encourage you to consider Bill Richardson for president.
Please do the following. Most of us will agree that this is what Richardson SHOULD do:
1) ADDRESS THE EXPERIENCE VS CHANGE DEBATE-
This has been constantly debated. But the funny thing is, NO ONE has experience with Biden and Dodd gone. Say that you "need good experience to know what is right and what is wrong. But the funny thing is, I have the most experience here. I was UN Ambassador, I was US Sec. of Energy, I was a Congressman, and I am now a governor."
2) ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS OF THE CAMPAIGN- Seriously, be frank Mr. Richardson. The campaign isn't going the way you want it to be. Say you're not the ideal candidate. Maybe use the quote I created:
"I might not be as charismatic as Barack. I might not be as good looking as John. And I might not be married to Bill. But I get things done. When hostages need to be taken out, I'm there. When 80,000 jobs need to be created, I'm there. When we want to revive economies, I'm there."
3) ADDRESS THE CAMPAIGN'S POTENTIAL- The one thing that I loved that Biden did was say "Be warned Iowa. If you elect me 1,2,or 3, I WILL be your next president." Say something similar.
Show the voters of New Hampshire that their voter won't be wasted. Be frank.
4) CONTROL THE DEBATE- The media sucks. Ok. Let's get over that. If they don't give everyone equal time, Richardson should just barge in and answer questions. This time, no mercy. If the fate of the campaign hinges on it, no time to screw around. The media will try to give you questions that are unimportant, DO NOT LISTEN.
5) POINTS to hammer:
-TAXES/ECONOMY- You're the only tax cutting democrat! USE THIS!
-IRAQ- Call Hillary and John "flip-floppers"!
6) Jokes! Put some in! You never do in these debates, yet you're such a funny guy.
Clinton is fair game on Iraq, given her hawkishness, but Edwards has consistently come out openly and said that he was wrong to vote for the authorization bill. Clinton on the other hand has never admitted that she made a mistake or even that she would have voted differently in retrospect. Moreover are you forgetting that while Richardson wasn't even in Congress, he also initially supported the war in Iraq? I would stay away from this one.
MAKE COMPARISONS BETWEEN YOU AND AL GORE.
Say stuff like:
"I might not be the most exciting, but in the end, I'm more Al Gore than Al Gore."
Also, this is probably the most important,:
Address the campaign's potential! People want to beleive you can win the presidency. People want to be motivated to do something great.
You have to create a superb (and short) argument in this debate on why people should listen to you.
"If you want to end this war the quickest, vote for me. If you want to get taxes cut and more jobs, vote for me. If you want experience and change, vote for me. Be warned, if I do well, I WILL catch on."
Governor Richardson is now on equal footing with the other three and as they seem to adopt his positions from Iraq to NCLB as their own, he need simply remind them who was first. And remind America that the next President must hit the ground running on the first day, that takes foreign policy AND practical, governmental management experience.
Having thrown my two cents in, a buck at a time, for awhile now I must add... As a viewer of previous debates, don't sum up your points at the end of a question, give the listeners credit for getting it the first time. This allows the answering period to end before being cut off by a moderator, also not a favorable impression to the TV audience. And keep gripping the sides of the podium as you have in Iowa to reduce arm movement, it keeps you grounded, literally.
Mr Richardson should be congratulated for his important contribution and direction to the discourse now taking place in our party. His voice has been reasoned, compassionate, and inclusive throughout the process. He has presented sound policy proposals that will be adopted by the Democratic party and whoever is the nominee.
This shortened primary season is different from previous campaigns with the very real possibility of multiple winners in the next month. We still have the Western states, including mine, California with its large Latino voting block, and the Governor could take these. No one candidate is going to run away with this thing, it could be a BROKERED CONVENTION and then anything can happen.
Don't give up on the BEST CANDIDATE for our party, electability is still important. Don't give up on someone that has worked so hard for us, his supporters.
We need change and you are that change.
www.pafundi.com
Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central Command: 4361
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