New Mexico
governor Bill Richardson ended his bid for the Democratic
presidential nomination Thursday after poor finishes in the
first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
He praised all of
his Democratic rivals but endorsed no one. He
encouraged voters to ''take a long and thoughtful look'' at
all of them.
Richardson said
that although his support at the polls lagged the
front-runners, many of his leading rivals had moved closer
to his positions on such issues as the war in Iraq and
educating young Americans at home.
On a less serious
note, he estimated the long campaign had included 200
debates. He quickly amended that to 24 but said ''it felt
like 200.''
Richardson, 60,
announced his decision at the state capitol, saying he
was returning to ''the best job in the world'' as New
Mexico's governor.
With the New
Mexico legislature convening for its annual one-month
regular session next Tuesday, he said with a grin to all
those involved: ''I'm back.''
Richardson had
one of the most wide-ranging resumes of any candidate ever
to run for the presidency, bringing experience from his time
in Congress, President Bill Clinton's Cabinet as
energy secretary, as U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations, and in the New Mexico statehouse as well as his
role as a freelance diplomat. As a Hispanic man, he added to
the unprecedented diversity in the Democratic field
that also included a woman and a black man.
But Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama dominated the spotlight in
the campaign, and Richardson was never able to become a
top-tier contender, trailing well behind them and
former North Carolina senator John Edwards.
Richardson's
support fell below 5% in the New Hampshire primary
Tuesday, and he came in with just 2% in the Iowa caucuses
last week.
Edwards
congratulated Richardson, saying he had run a good race.
There was no
immediate comment from the other campaigns.
''He was a very
good candidate, a serious candidate,'' Edwards said in
Columbia, S.C. ''I congratulate him. He ought to be proud of
what he's done. What's happened is, over time the race
is becoming more focused. I think that's good for
democracy. I think this thing's going on for a long
time.''
Richardson was
easily elected to two terms as governor but will be forced
from office by term limits in 2010. (Barry Massey, AP)
