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The New Republic magazine, in a story largely critical of Richardson, takes note of an incident that took place in April at a minor-league baseball game in Iowa. " ... As we get up from our seats to visit the play-by-play announcer's booth, Richardson does something I've never seen any politician do," author Ryan Lizza wrote. "There are two women sitting in front of us. They are both young and attractive, probably in their twenties. The governor rotates his large frame sideways and shimmies out of his row. The two women smile up at him. As he passes, Richardson reaches...

Keeping tabs on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... SNOW-BILL: He shakes hands. He gives campaign speeches. He smooches babies. He even lends a hand to try to get his campaign vehicle out of a snowbank. Richardson's campaign trip to Iowa late last week coincided with a nasty blizzard, and a blogger who spent some time with the governor revealed Monday that "Bill ended up getting out and pushing at least once when his car got stuck." Richardson campaign spokesman Pahl Shipley confirmed the report..."The governor actually (did) get out of the...

RUMOR MILL: The Politico, an influential blog, featured a long piece Thursday about Richardson's response to questions "about his behavior with women." The piece quotes from a Journal interview with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish published in 2005 about her annoyance at Richardson pinching and poking her at public events. Then it delves into unspecific "rumors" and challenges Richardson's reliance on being vetted for Cabinet jobs and vice presidential slots as evidence he would come up clean if he's scrutinized about womanizing. The Politico piece notes that Denish told the Journal that the touching wasn't inappropriate. Richardson campaign spokesman Pahl Shipley...

Keeping tabs on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... DON'T JUMP: David Brooks, the big-wig New York Times columnist and author, credits Richardson with saving him from self-destruction in a piece in the Sunday Times. "So there I was, sitting in my office, quietly contemplating suicide," he begins. He was watching the Democrats at the Nevada candidates' forum on C-SPAN, and then he saw Richardson: "He was dressed differently— in slacks and a sports jacket. He told jokes that didn't seem repeated for the 5,000th time. He seemed recognizably human, unlike some...

Keeping tabs on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... # FROSTY WELCOME: Richardson arrived in snow-blown Iowa on Friday for his first foray as a Democratic presidential candidate and told the Des Moines Register his trip was "a little dicey. Like, zero visibility and 40 mile-per-hour winds."— L.L. # ALL SMILES: A new Time Magazine column entitled "Why Republicans are Smiling" says the GOP has several things to cheer about these days— one of them being the field of 2008 Democratic presidential contenders. The column by conservative William Kristol said Hillary Clinton...

Keeping tabs on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... RISING: A new ABC News-Washington Post poll of Democrats and those who lean Democratic had Richardson at 3 percent. He trailed Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Al Gore [hasn't announced] and John Edwards. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain led Republicans. The national telephone survey took place last week. PITCHING WOO: Richardson played Hardball with MSNBC's Chris Matthews for eight minutes on Monday but fielded only softballs. Matthews told Richardson: "You know more about foreign policy than I do;" put him in fourth place in...

Keeping tabs on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... ATTACK DOG? Political consultant Dick Morris (whose big-time credentials include helping Bill Clinton get re-elected in 1996) blogs on The Hill that Richardson's backing of Hillary Clinton in the Clinton/Barack Obama/David Geffen war of words last week was no accident: " ... Richardson is not really running for president. He's running for vice president, so it makes sense to attack Obama. Not only is Barack his chief rival for vice president, but he can audition in front of Hillary for the role of...

Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER: Richardson and other governors attending the National Governors Association's winter meeting are invited to the White House on Sunday night for a "black-tie evening with President and Mrs. Bush." A Richardson spokesman said the governor will be in attendance, but first lady Barbara Richardson is not making the trip.— J.J. PASS THE RELISH: Richardson got a pretty big piece in The New York Times on Friday. They call him "an imposing, exuberant figure with a relish for attention." They also...

Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... THE NEVADA SHOCKER: A rare event indeed took place Wednesday at the first Democratic presidential candidate forum of the season. Eclipse? No. Bigfoot sighting? No. Then what? Richardson missed a primo photo op. The candidates ... gathered together on stage at the Carson City (Nev.) Community Center to start the forum, and Richardson— an experienced hand when it comes to landing in front of a camera— was conspicuously absent. ... He made an appearance at another gathering just before the event and was likely en...

Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... HE IS ON A LIQUID DIET: Calling it "Loafgate," a blogger in the crowd at a house party in New Hampshire over the weekend watched Richardson as he visited with folks in the dining room, where potluck goodies were on hand and caught this weird moment: "We watched Richardson, in the middle of a conversation with a NH State Rep., reach down and STROKE the end of a potluck French baguette with his pinkie finger. Lovingly. Tenderly. So unfortunately. And then, just as quickly as...

Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... GOING LIVE: Want to see how Gov. Bill Richardson stacks up during his first presidential candidate forum? If you've got cable TV, you're in luck: C-SPAN is planning to carry live coverage of next week's Democratic forum in Nevada. Richardson is among a field of eight Democratic hopefuls scheduled to take part in the Feb. 21 forum in Carson City. The forum will be moderated by George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC's "This Week" news show. The event starts at noon PST (1 p.m. New Mexico...

Keeping tabs on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... # There's not much better in the buzz-making early days of a campaign than an entire page devoted to your underdog candidate in the New York Times. Richardson got it Sunday, featured in the "Questions For" page in the Sunday magazine. Often-prickly interviewer Deborah Solomon seemed to like Richardson, and he got off some good lines: Does Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice resent his diplomatic troubleshooting and consider him annoying? "I would think so," the governor said. On his recent weight loss, Richardson...

Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president … Time magazine, in a Feb. 5 cover story with the migraineinducing headline, “Only 648 days until the next election!” disses Richardson by not including his photo among the eight candidate mugs on the cover, mentioning his name only once in the story and not featuring him among 11 candidates in a “guide to a crowded field” graphic. Good news and bad news for Richardson in Time’s Election Index, which polls on primary popularity. He gets 4 percent, far short of Hillary Clinton’s 40 percent but...

Bill Richardson hits the road on his first official presidential campaign trip, sees a change in federal fundraising limits and gets ribbed by Jon Stewart and Jay Leno in this edition of the Richardson Watch: # You're nobody in politics until Jon Stewart skewers you on "The Daily Show," and Richardson finally got his Tuesday night. Stewart showed a clip of Richardson enumerating his international experience, including freeing hostages, and said: "Oh my God! Bill Richardson is Batman!"— L.L. # Jay Leno weighed in during a monologue earlier this week: "New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is running for president, which...

Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president ... # After rallying Las Cruces residents to vote in favor of a gross receipts tax for his Spaceport project, the governor switched hats and states Monday, crossing the border into Texas to appear at an El Paso fundraiser for his presidential bid. According to the El Paso Times, Richardson picked up about $60,000 at the home of a local doctor. He followed the money trail to Houston on Tuesday, his campaign said. ... # Richardson took Spanish-language TV heavyweight Maria Elena Salinas along on a...