Richardson's goodbye speech
Posted: Thursday, January 10, 2008 6:11 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2008, Richardson
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
In his speech today announcing the end of his presidential bid, Richardson focused on what he has been able to achieve while a candidate and what he continues to hope to do as a governor and American citizen.
"Now that my time in this national campaign has come to an end, I would urge those who supported my candidacy to take a long and thoughtful look at the remaining Democrats," Richardson said in the New Mexico State Capitol. "All I ask is that you make your own independent choice with the same care and dedication to this country that you honored me during this campaign."
Wearing blue jeans and a blazer, Richardson appeared relaxed as he thanked his supporters and told his state he is returning to the job he loves. "The time has come to end my quest and come home to tackle the challenges before us in New Mexico," he said. "To all New Mexico legislatures and citizens who participate in the public process, I have a message -- I am back."
Richardson said he will not be endorsing another candidate "at this time." All he asked is that the rest of the field "not resort to personal attacks to win the nomination."
While Richardson will now be moving on, he said he is pleased with what he was able to achieve during his year-long campaign. "Despite overwhelming financial and political odds, I am proud of the campaign we waged and, most importantly, the influence we had on the issues that matter the most to the future of this country," he said to a standing ovation.
"A year ago, we were the only campaign calling for the removal of all our troops within the year's time from Iraq. We were the only campaign calling for a complete reform of education including the scrapping of No Child Left Behind. And we were the campaign that was the most aggressive in clean energy and the most ambitious standards in reducing global warming. Now all the remaining candidates have come to our point of view."
Richardson also spoke kind words of his former competitors, talking about Biden's "passion in intellect" and Clinton's "poise in the face of adversity [which is] matched only by her lifetime of achievement." Richardson also called Dodd "the epitome of selfless dedication to public service," Edwards "a singular voice for the most downtrodden forgotten among us," Obama "a bright light of hope and optimism at a time of great national unease," and Kucinich "a man of great decency and dedication who will faithfully soldier on no matter how great the odds."
And what will Richardson do next? Continue his international missions for advancing democracy, ride his horse and said he will "work hard to make Tom Udall the next U.S. Senator from New Mexico" -- in case anyone was wondering if Richardson was thinking about the campaign.
