Nice guy Bill Richardson, former energy secretary and UN ambassador - and current New Mexico governor, announced that he is officially running for president. Richardson, who is Hispanic, made his announcement in both Spanish and English, reasoning, "One of my potential problems is that one of my potential bases — Hispanics — don't know that I'm Hispanic, so I'm trying to change that. It's just rudimentary politics." That Bill Richardson guy, he's always thinking.
In the latest Rasmussen Reports presidential poll, Barack Obama is tied with Hillary Clinton, each at 32%. John Edwards is comfortably in third with 17% far ahead of Bill Richardson in fourth with 3%. Interestingly, according to the poll, it is Edwards who performs best in in a general election matchup against GOP candidates. He is the only Democratic candidate who tops Rudy Giuliani.
For his first presidential run, Barack Obama seems to be getting the hang of things. Beginner's luck, maybe? It is being reported that Barack Obama raised $20 million in Q1 2007. That's not quite as much as Hillary Clinton ($26 million), but it handily beats every other Democrat in the field, including John Edwards ($14M), Bill Richardson ($6M), Joe Biden ($3M), and Christopher Dodd ($4M). These numbers don't reflect the additional funds candidates may have carried over from previous campaigns.
According to the latest Rasmussen Reports numbers, John Edwards has surged significantly in the polls to 17%, up six percentage points from the prior week. He appears to be taking some votes from Barack Obama and Bill Richardson, rather than Hillary Clinton. Of course, it can only be speculated whether Edwards' rise in this poll is due to the announcement the couple made last week relating to the recurrence of Elizabeth's cancer. And, of course, if you watched "60 Minutes" last night like I did, you would know Edwards said he doesn't want the "sympathy" vote.
