Bill Richardson kicked serious ass at this weekend's NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials) conference in Orlando, and I have the video:
Richardson received a lot of positive press this weekend between NALEO and his strong showing in the second quarter fundraising. This is from the Chicago Tribune:
But Richardson landed the hardest punch with the crowd when he suggested that the failure to pass fair immigration laws is due partly to a societal failure to recognize that "immigration has historically been a very positive element."
"I have a message to the American media," Richardson said. "Do you notice when they depict immigrants, they have somebody crossing a wall ... as if they're criminals? How about the American media looking at the farmworker who breaks his back? How about the American media covering the Latino immigrant that has died for this country?"
Yes, Governor, exactly.
I know what you are thinking, The Chicago Tribune loves Bill Richardson because last fall he flew to Darfur and successfully negotiated the release of one of their journalists, Paul Salopek.
The fact is, Bill Richarsdon is climbing in the polls in the early voting states. There isn't one candidate out there that is going to work harder than Bill Richardson, who holds the Guiness Book of World Records' record for most hands shaken in one day, this from the Tufts E-News (his alma mater)...
Richardson's new mark of 13,392 for an eight-hour period, with a Guinness World Records official standing by, went well beyond the Roosevelt record of 8,513 handshakes set at the White House," reported the Los Angeles Times. "Richardson divided his handshaking between the New Mexico State Fair and a tailgate party outside the University of New Mexico."
That's just cool, no matter how you shake it ( ;-) )
Yes, I am a proud and vocal supporter of Bill Richardson for President. I am grateful to him for what he has done for our beautiful state, New Mexico, and I am committed to helping him on his way to the White House. I know he can do it. Vamos a ganar!