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Richardson Gets the Last Laugh
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ShareJanuary 03, 2008 1:28 PM
ABC News' Sarah Amos Reports: It is finally caucus day here in Iowa, and with more than 2,000 journalists roaming the state, one would think getting a bit of national media coverage shouldn't be hard.
If your name ends in Clinton or begins with Barack then it really isn't. But for some of the lesser-known, low-polling candidates, getting a New York Times reporter or a network camera crew to an event is a bit of a struggle.
Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., decided to make the best of his lackluster press coverage, by compelling Iowans to prove the national media wrong.
"The people of Iowa are going to decide whose going to win and who is going to President, not the national media," Richardson told a crowd Wednesday night -- and almost every crowd this week.
And it could have ended there, an impassioned plea from Richardson to voters. But Richardson is a man who appreciates a good joke. Ask many Iowans who the funniest Democratic candidate is and many will probably answer "Bill Richardson."
His ads are humorous, his speeches are peppered with jokes, and chances are when he shakes a voter's hand he'll have some wisecrack remark to make them smile.
And so earlier in the week, Richardson began taking his plea to ignore the national media one step farther: he included his only consistent member of the national media -- me-- in the speech.
By the end of this ABC reporter's first full day on the campaign trail, Richardson delivered the line while pointing me out to the crowd.
"We can't let the national media decide this election," said Richardson, speaking directly to my DV camera. The first crowd laughed, the second applauded, so the third time round Richardson gave me a full introduction and waved to my camera.
Three days later it hadn't let up and his staff has assured me that once you are in his sights, or in this case his speech, there is no escape.
The week went on, the introductions continued and the crowd loved it every time. And so as his campaign in Iowa wound down last night, it was time for one last introduction.
As Richardson spoke of the national media and introduced me as the "young lady from ABC who I love," the crowd of 300 all turned to stare.
In a new twist to what had become an old standard, Richardson ended with the line "and I want to see this on the national media."
The crowd went crazy, and with this posting, Richardson is finally getting his wish. Maybe this will stop the cycle from continuing on in New Hampshire, but something tells me that won't be the case.
January 3, 2008 in Richardson, Bill, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (1)
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Richardson is the man that Obama clais to be. But this is a beauty contest, due to the media involvement. Is this any way to chose the next "Most Powerful Man in the World," a veritable elected king? The crazy process to select a President gave us such glories as Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and the two Bushes, the latter of which -- Bush 43 -- is living evidence of the need to either reform or abolish the office. Unbelievable!
Posted by: Jon Hopwood | Jan 4, 2008 7:56:34 AM
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