The scowl that has made its way onto the battered face of Mike Huckabee in recent days is probably the fate of a front runner. Even the hopeful Obama sometimes looks as if the frustration of a constant barrage of attacks are taking their personal toll. Which means the happiest dwarf in Iowa's bunch is still at the back of the pack and trying to eek out every last moment he has left.
I was impressed by Bill Richardson. While Edwards was angry, Bill was affable. While Fred was intense, Bill was entertaining. While Rudy was exiting, Bill was exciting.
The pregame at the People's Court (a popular club in the Court St. District when the sun goes down) had been transformed and held over 300 Iowans and press (and political bloggers like me) there to see Richardson be interviewed by Martin Sheen. Cheers were led by those on the stage as if we had mistakenly slipped into a rock concert or better, a high school basketball game. We were soon disappointed to find out that Jed Bartlett (Sheen's Presidential character on West Wing) was too sick to make the flight to Iowa. But our concern quickly faded as the music kicked up and Richardson made his way into to room. He was wearing a brown leather jacket over a red turtle neck and looked nothing like the candidates I had seen so far - he looked like he was enjoying it.
As he wound his way through the room, I shook his hand and he looked me in the eyes and for a moment I could see what voters in New Mexico have seen thus electing him governor of that state. His speech was more than positive. It was stirring. For a moment I thought that I would be okay with this guy leading our country as he promised a January 3rd surprise in the caucus.
Reality, though, may be a stronger force than Richardson's positive message. More likely, Richardson could be key in a late hour negotiated deal that could put one of the top three Democrats over the top. And truthfully, Bill is as likely to be the VP running mate as any other candidate because who doesn't want the "nice" guy on the team (not to mention his western state could be pivotal in the general and his Hispanic heritage could sway the largest minority in America).
So maybe there is a happy ending for this nice guy.
1 comment:
Bill's understanding of the water crisis on the Colorado River, and even worse, his suggestions to deal with the other six states that share the water, has left me feeling that this man's is the Dem's version of Ron Paul. Only without the 6 mil.
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