Today Bill Richardson is supposed to announce he will drop from the race. His bid for the presidency has not gone well and although he came in fourth in both Iowas caucus and New Hampshires primary it was a distant fourth. I am really bummed from this news.

As a resident of the state he governs as well as an admirer of his past service to our country I hoped his ideas and ideals would take a front seat. He is the first political candidate I have ever felt strongly enough about to contribute money to the campaign. The first big name politician I have really admired. Even when his ideas weren’t popular he stuck with them.

He stuck with the conviction that compassionate medical marijuana should be available even when the state legislators shot down the idea 6 times. Finally he compromised a bit and got the bill passed. The compromise consisted of not allowing farmers grow weed for profit and the state would grow the crops. Or the patient could grow their own. Not a bad compromise considering that MMJ patients would be facing criminal charges under the old law. When asked how he felt his stance on medicine for very sick people would affect his bid for president he answered that he really didn’t care. It was the right thing to do. I like that attitude.

Looking around the state of New Mexico you can see windmills and solar panels every where. With tax breaks and other benefits the state has cleaner sources of power than before and more on the way. This came under his leadership.

His call to bring the troops home from Iraq within a year didn’t fit into the war machines plan to leave them there until at least 2013. All of the front runners on both sides of this two party system are going with the machines plan so they wont really be battled by Bushco as badly.

With his record in foreign policy and the hands on way he approached problematic leaders of the world he would have been the most qualified person for the job. He got stuff done in Korea, Iraq, Iran and many other places. He fought with words and won. Unlike the current policy of shoot, bomb and have no chance of winning.

I am really saddened by the way the frontrunners have been portrayed by the teevee media. Calling some rock stars and others comeback kids they completely ignored the reality based campaign of Richardson. I wish he had gotten the recognition he deserved.

Who knows? Maybe Barack or Hillary will ask him to be their running mate. V.P. would set him up to really help change the direction of our country.  Set him up to be the president after next.
I can only hope.

Stumble it!