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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Richardson says Obama has 'something special' In setback for Clinton, New Mexico governor backs Illinois senator By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY THE NEW YORK TIMES PORTLAND, Ore. — "I talked to Sen. Clinton last night," Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico said Friday, describing the tense phone call in which he informed Clinton that despite two months of personal entreaties by her and her husband, he would endorse Barack Obama for president. "Let me tell you: We've had better conversations," Richardson said of the call. The decision by Richardson, who ended his own presidential campaign on Jan. 10, to support Obama was bad news for Clinton. It was a stinging rejection of her candidacy by a man who held two senior positions in Bill Clinton''s administration and who is one of America's most prominent elected Latinos. Richardson returned from vacation to announce his endorsement at a moment when Clinton's hopes of winning the Democratic nomination seem to be dimming. But potentially more troublesome for Clinton was what Richardson said in announcing his decision. He criticized the tenor of Clinton's campaign. He praised Obama for the speech he gave in response to the furor over racially incendiary remarks delivered by Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. And he came close to doing what Clinton's advisers have increasingly feared some big-name Democrat would do in this environment: Urge Clinton to step aside in the interest of party unity. "I'm not going to advise any other candidate when to get in and out of the race," Richardson said in Portland after appearing with Obama. "Sen. Clinton has a right to stay in the race, but eventually we don't want to go into the Democratic convention bloodied. This was another reason for my getting in and endorsing, the need to perhaps send a message that we need unity." In many ways, the decision by Richardson -- one of a handful of Democratic leaders whose endorsement is front-page-caliber news -- was as much a tale about the Clintons and their longtime political ally from New Mexico as it was about the course of Obama's presidential campaign. >Bill Clinton had told his wife's campaign that he had received several assurances from Richardson that the governor would not endorse Obama. One adviser who spoke to Bill Clinton on Friday said that the former president was surprised by the endorsement, but described him as more philosophical than angry about it. Richardson looked anguished when asked in an interview if his relationship with the Clintons would withstand this. In endorsing Obama, Richardson was not only taking sides in the most bitter of political fights, but rejecting the candidacy of a close friend. "There's something special, there's something special about this guy," Richardson said of Obama. "I've been trying to figure it out, but it's very good." >Bill Clinton helped elevate Richardson to the national stage: He named him his energy secretary and U.N. ambassador. And Clinton left no doubt about how importantly he viewed Richardson's support for his wife's campaign: He flew to New Mexico to sit down with Richardson and watch the Super Bowl as part of a high-profile courtship. But Richardson stopped returning Bill Clinton''s telephone calls days ago, the former president's aides said. And as of Friday, Richardson said, he had yet to pick up the telephone to call his former boss to tell him of his decision. The reaction of some of Bill Clinton''s allies suggests that might have been wise. "An act of betrayal," said James Carville, an adviser to the Clintons. "Mr. Richardson's endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic," Carville said. Richardson called Obama about two weeks ago to tell him that he was "99 percent with him," Obama's aides said. Even though Richardson had promised that his mind was made up, Obama's aides said they grew worried that Richardson would back down following the controversy over disclosures that Obama's former pastor had made racially inflammatory remarks. But Richardson pointed specifically to the speech that Obama gave in explaining why he endorsed him. "Sen. Barack Obama addressed the issue of race with the eloquence and sincerity and decency and optimism we have come to expect of him. He did not seek to evade tough issues or to soothe us with comforting half-truths," Richardson said. "Rather, he inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility." Obama and Richardson appeared together on stage of the Memorial Coliseum in downtown Portland on Friday morning, greeted by a standing ovation. Richardson was still wearing a beard, which he grew during what he called a period of decompression after leaving the presidential race. On their own, endorsements in contests like this -- with such two well-known candidates -- do not necessarily move any votes. Obama won a boost of publicity after he was endorsed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts; Clinton subsequently won the Massachusetts primary. But the audience now is less primary voters than superdelegates, whose votes will be critical in helping either Clinton or Obama get the 2,025 delegates needed to win. Richardson is the 62nd superdelegate to endorse Obama since Feb. 5, compared with fewer than 5 who have moved into Clinton's column since then. The move by Richardson could give license to other superdelegates who had been holding back, at the request of the Clintons. At this point, the number of Democrats whose endorsements could shake the race is dwindling: former Vice President Al Gore; former Sen. John Edwards,, who left the race in February, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Aides to Edwards and Gore said that they did not expect either man to make a move in the immediate future, if at all.
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#4. To: christine (#0)
I didn't see Obamas speech. Maybe I will have to go watch it sometime. I will not be voting for Obama. But you have to admit that he does have some kind of Charisma.
Obama Speech: 'A More Perfect Union' 37 minutes. Barack Obama speaks in Philadelphia, PA at Constitution Center, on matters not just of race and recent remarks but of the fundamental path by which America can work together to pursue a better future.
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