Des Moines City View - Richardson Plans to Make Iowa his Focus

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Des Moines City View - Richardson Plans to Make Iowa his Focus

Des Moines City View

Presidential contender expects a strong showing in the leadoff caucus

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says competing in the Iowa caucus is central to his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. "It will probably be the state I spend the most time in," Richardson tells Cityview in an interview. "I plan to do well here."

Richardson made a campaign stop in Des Moines last Friday to officially open his Iowa headquarters. His swing through the state came shortly after the governor grabbed headlines for attacking his Democratic opponents for their positions on the Iraq war. At a forum on June 19, he was quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times as saying, "Too often we're looking at funding resolutions. Too often we're looking at timetables. What I would urge the Congress to do is press ahead with a major initiative to de-authorize the war." It was a statement some observers understood to be a thinly veiled barb at his Democratic rivals Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Richardson, who began his presidential campaign with a pledge not to engage in negative attacks, says his remarks were a fair criticism. "I'm pointing out differences; I'm not going negative," he says

Richardson has said, as president, he would withdraw American forces from Iraq and leave "zero troops" in the war-torn country. "I firmly believe leaving any residual forces will make our troops targets," he says. The withdrawal of U.S. troops won't worsen the conflict in Iraq, Richardson adds. "It is a civil war now. It is sectarian conflict. There is no military solution.

"My plan is withdrawal, with strong diplomacy," Richardson says. "I would use the leverage of the withdrawal to do three things." The former U.N. ambassador says he would organize a reconciliation conference between Iraq's three major ethnic groups, push for a U.N. peacekeeping force from Muslim countries and invite Syria and Iran to participate in the process, and convene a donors conference to help pay for reconstruction. Iraq's neighbors would have a stake in the plan's success, he says, because "nobody wants a civil war, nobody wants a stream of refugees." Richardson would also break with the Bush administration's policy of promoting democracy in the Middle East. "What ruined that policy was the invasion of Iraq," he says. "Our policy should be based on what are America's interests in the region," which include regional stability and the protection of Israel. On the domestic front, Richardson sounded more upbeat.

The immigration reform bill pending in Congress "is a good start," says Richardson, who served 15 years in the House. It has a legalization component, "which I believe is sensible. It is not an amnesty; it is not a citizenship bill."

Richardson, whose mother was Mexican, says the Latino community in America is "assimilating very well."

"There's more members of Congress that are Latino, there are two senators, one governor," he says. "It's healthy."

Richardson expanded on his background during a speech at a "Cookies and Conversation" forum at Drake University, where he addressed a crowd of close to 150 in Aliber Hall. "I'm Hispanic, most people don't know that," he says. "I'm not running as a Hispanic, I'm running as an American."

Richardson says he has the ability to win states like Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, which recent Democratic presidential candidates have lost. "I believe I'm viable in the middle of the country," he says, touting his record on major issues.

The former Secretary of Energy emphasized his state's record on renewable energy and conservation. New Mexico "is the only state that honors the Kyoto Protocol," Richardson says.

America needs to become more energy independent, he says. "I consider it a moral imperative."

Richardson also displayed his self-deprecating humor, which many Iowans are familiar with from his television advertisements in which he's shown applying for a job.

"Us politicians, we take ourselves too seriously," he says. Richardson chose the job application advertisement because he "wanted something to jump out."

"When I started doing the ads, I was below the margin of error [in the polls]," he tells the audience, many of whom laugh.

In May, Richardson had the support of 10 percent of likely caucus goers, according to a Des Moines Register poll. The governor's campaign says a new poll shows him with 13 percent support among likely caucus goers.

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