The problem with Richardson is that he was Clinton's fixer in the Monica affair. Even though he's pretty competent and doesn't have the personal problems that most Clintonites have, he reminds everybody of the one aspect of the Clinton administration everybody would want to forget.
Ture enough, but Richardson has done a pretty good job of rehabilitating his image since the end of his time with the Clinton Administration.
No doubt his allegiance will be a factor, how much of one is the question Democrats will have to answer first, before "We the People" get to weigh in.
Richardson...competent? He was the guy runing the Department of Energy during the Los Alamos scandal. His so-called negoitations with North Korea were a disaster. He visited Afghanistan, met with the Tailban, and was part of our failed policy with that regime. His one year as UN representative was not great shakes with his most noteworthy accomplishment being a meeting with Monica about a job.