Thursday, November 8, 2007

Bill Richardson

I don't normally get involved in politics, partly because of my profession and partly because I'm not really a political kind of guy. I think the real work and impact in life is done in the private sector, more than government. Having said that, I really, really hope Bill Richardson gets the Democratic nomination, and then I really, really hope he gets elected president (and I'm not a Democrat).

I'm under no illusion that any Republican candidate has a chance in 2008, and am completely underwhelmed by the quality and variety of candidates running for the GOP slot (Giuliani? Are you kidding?). The ostensible front runners on the Democrat side strike me as remarkably underskilled and under experienced. As far as I know, neither Clinton or Obama have ever really been in charge of anything. I'd like to have a president with a bit more experience than that. Look at Teddy Roosevelt (best president ever!) - he was police commissioner of NYC, governor of NY and undersecretary of the Navy, then VP before becoming president. That's the kind of person I'm looking for.

Richardson comes pretty close to TR's resume. He was governor of NM, UN ambassador, secretary of Energy... you get the picture. I also like Richardson's track record, his attitude and sense of humility. I like his position on many things, in particular his position on Energy (he was Secretary of Energy for goodness sake).

I won't try to summarize him on the issues - you can check them out online and decide for yourself.

4 comments:

Michelle said...

Ditto on a lot of this, and I've been avoiding a lot of political discussions lately. I am so disappointed in the choices this election. I'm seriously reminded of a silly South Park episode where the kids had to vote on a new mascot and their choices were between a douche and a turd. There was campaigning and everything, but at the end of the day, the choice was still between a douche and a turd. It was hilarious. And so true due to our ridiculous two-party system.

Unknown said...

That's very funny - I've never watched South Park, but that episode definitely strikes close to home... What's worse is that the two mascots probably beat out a Dragon or a Falcon or something cool...

Gabe said...

I'm a FIERCE independent (who usually leans Republican), but I would definitely love to see Richardson in the White House. Being that he's govenor of my home state is all the more reason for me to want him to succeed. It doesn't seem that he gets near enough press, though, as opposed to Obama or Clinton. That's just too bad. I wish we could just vote for who we wanted straight away rather than have to go through a primary cycle.

Mark said...

Actually, those choices only came about because the existing mascot (Cow) was offensive to PETA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douche_and_Turd

Great episode!