Bobert, you almost made me gag on my chocolate chip cookie. I'm glad I re-read your post and saw that you said the Richardson "may be" the smartest man to run for president in years.

Come, come. Richardson became governor of NM because he is a Hispanic and because he has a political machine that runs over people like steam rollers run over eggs. It's true he has some international experience, but it amounts to a lot less than most people imagine.

Richardson is not the dimmest bulb in the box by any stretch of the imagination. But he certainly is not the brightest, either. A person could argue that even entering the race knowing he was competing against the first female running for president and the first credible black running for president is proof that he's not the most intelligent of candidates. Unless, of course, he was running for VP all along, and if he gets the nod then he will be seen as a genius.

Richardson is what he is - an extremely powerful power broker in a very, very small pond. As has been noted above, he might deliver the hispanic vote for Obama, but the negatives against Clinton may make it impossible for him to help her very much. A large majority of Hispanics are Catholic, and if Clinton is viewed as being anti-church then Richardson could be seen as a sell-out as opposed to being a positive image on her ticket. Obama comes across as being far more pro-faith. Richardson is a far better fit with Obama.

Also, I don't see Richardson's ego meshing with Clinton. You can't have two sharks in the same wading pool.

Freightdawg