Bill Richardson: still worth a look

It's no particular secret that, as much as I like Edwards and Obama (and keep a chair at my table open, in case Al Gore shows up) I believe New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson should not be discounted.

Aside from Mr. Gore, Mr. Richardson's credentials place him head and shoulders above the current field as far as relevent experience goes. And while Americans don't, nor do I believe they should, select their presidents on resume alone, still, when combined with respectable fund-raising, should give hints of a candidate's viability.

Kevin Drum would seem to agree:

[D]idn't Bill Richardson do awfully well? Sure, $6 million looks anemic compared to the three frontrunners, but in absolute terms that's pretty impressive, isn't it? If he keeps it up, he'll have a plenty big enough war chest to wage a serious campaign.

I don't have any big point to make here. It just seems like Richardson deserves a little more attention for raising that kind of money with virtually no name recognition.

$6 million is still an awfully large amount of money at this stage of the game. It was John Edwards who raised eyebrows in 2003 when he posted the then ridiculously large amount of $7.4 million in his opening bid in 2003.

Sure, it's not Hill's $26 million, or Obama's $25 million, but believe it or not $6 million will buy you lots of face time in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, the sites of the first three referendums.

It's now up to Governor Richardson as to whether he'll be able to make the most of it.