Richardson on campaign trail

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MINDEN, Nev. (AP) — Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson, joined by another possible contender, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, made a strategic stop Saturday in Nevada — where a caucus win early next year would put him in the top tier of Democrats seeking the White House.

The New Mexico governor, who started the week by filing papers for a presidential exploratory committee, met with Democrat activists in Reno and Minden, telling them that the party’s future — and the road to the presidency — “runs through the West.”

Richardson isn’t the first 2008 Democratic presidential contender to stop in Nevada, which will have the nation’s second caucus next Jan. 19. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack were here last month.

The upcoming caucus will be held between Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus and the New Hampshire primary.

But Richardson is the only Westerner among the many candidates. While not sure he can carry Nevada, he said he’s dealt with Western issues such as water and public lands and “our next president must understand these unique challenges facing the American West.”

“I have to do well in Nevada,” he said when asked how critical the state’s caucus is to his candidacy.

“I know I’m the underdog, but I’m going to outwork the other candidates,” Richardson said. “Nevada is going to be a critically important state because of its early caucus. I’m going to campaign very hard, door to door. I’m after voters, not big endorsements.”

“I’m a fellow Westerner,” he said. “The main issues today require someone with the background and heart, and I believe I have the best qualifications.”

Richardson also said he’s proud of his heritage but is not running as a Hispanic in a state that is nearly 23 percent Hispanic.

“I think it’s a growing population, and I’ll fight for every vote,” he said.

Richardson said his experience as a U.N. ambassador, Energy Department secretary and congressman sets him apart from the rest of the field.

The candidate also said he wants U.S. troops to return from Iraq, adding, “There’s no reason it can’t be done within a year or less.”

Reconciliation of the warring factions in Iraq “should be our one remaining objective,” Richardson said, adding that he favors a regional conference on stability in Iraq — “and it should include Syria and Iran.”

Clark said in an interview that he opposes the Bush administration’s proposed escalation of troops in Iraq, and also is concerned about a possible military foray into Iran.

“It’s amazing to me that the president doesn’t think he has enough leverage yet to deal with the Iranians,” Clark said, adding that he fears “a buildup to a strike on Iran — and I don’t believe we should ever go to war with a country unless it’s the absolutely, absolutely, absolutely last resort.”

“When you want to initiate combat operations, when you won’t deign to speak to the country, what in the world is the matter with this leadership?”

Richardson also said he’s the first Democrat to accept an invitation to appear in two candidate forums in the state — Feb. 21 in Carson City and March 24 in Las Vegas. He also pledged to campaign in all 17 Nevada counties.

Richardson is the first candidate to announce hiring staff to organize his campaign in Nevada. Reynaldo Martinez, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is his statewide campaign chairman.

In Reno, Richardson thanked a supporter, Sean McHaney, for his recent six-month tour of duty in Iraq and asked him about his future plans. The 24-year-old Navy veteran served as a bodyguard for a chaplain in Iraq.

“I’m going to support him for president,” McHaney said. “He has more experience and is the best choice for the job. I also like his stand on the war in Iraq.

“I think the war is an atrocity,” McHaney said. “I think we’ve unnecessarily killed 100,000 Iraqis and more than 3,000 Americans. We’ve caused more problems than good by being there, and I think it’s time we got out of there.”

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