I'd just like to point out that according SUSA Governor Richardson earned a 64% approval from New Mexico voters. In a poll sponsored by KOB-TV December 13, 2005. Here's the breakdown by some of the categories go check out the rest on your own.
Approval By category:
Pro Lifers 55% Approval
Attend Church Regularly 59%By Ideology:
Conservative 51%
Moderate 69%
Liberal 77%
Finally go check out this great commentary by Kristen Davenport, she happens to think that Governor Richardson is good for the state.
Commentary: So Richardson likes to hobnob - that's good for the state
By Kristen Davenport
Tribune Commentary
December 21, 2005Just when you think they're going to let the airplane thing go, the media come out with another headline. "Governor takes a liking to State Police copter," the Associated Press reported last week, in a supposedly investigative report accusing Gov. Bill Richardson of taking the state cops' copter to various events.
So the airplane problem got boring, and reporters decided to look at the helicopter records, too?
Just as with the dozen stories detailing Richardson's trips in the state airplane, I say, "So what?" This is another non-scandal pumped up by front-page placement into a legitimate issue. You'd think the political reporters were in the pocket of the feisty New Mexico Republican Party.
It's been nearly a year now since the Republicans consciously decided to attempt to tarnish Richardson's reputation by portraying him as a party-hopping, cigar-smoking, airplane-riding entertainer with his own makeup artist.
Most of the advertisements, however, focused on the only facts the Republicans could get their hands on: Richardson uses his airplane way more than other governors. Somehow we're supposed to discern for ourselves, from the airplane statistics, that the guy is a scandalous drain on the taxpayer dollar - which is baloney.
The truth of the matter is that Richardson does, indeed, use the state airplane quite a bit. And, it appears, Richardson uses the State Police helicopter quite often - although it might help to define "often." It appears Richardson was in the helicopter on 40 of the copter's 291 trips during a two-year period.
Richardson shrugs it off, saying he uses the plane to "maximize (his) use of time." Guess what? This is an entirely legitimate response. Not only that, but it's true.
Lucky for Richardson, if polls are any real indication, the public hasn't been much influenced by all the "airplane scandal" stories. If New Mexicans had wanted a governor who stayed put in the Governor's Mansion and spent his days reading up on policy issues in a quiet library somewhere - like, say, Ralph Nader - they surely wouldn't have elected Richardson.
It was well known from the beginning that Richardson was a politician who liked to jet around the world. As former U.N. ambassador and secretary of energy, he regularly traveled overseas and hobnobbed with VIPs. Richardson takes on big tasks - chairman of this, president of that, keynote speaker here, professor emeritus there - and such work does require him to actually leave the Governor's Mansion.
Before you deride Richardson for being an "entertainer" and ridicule him for his fancy suits, let's note that all politicians are increasingly like entertainers these days. In some sense, Richardson's flair for entertainment is good for New Mexico, because it gets New Mexico out there in the public eye. It brings in business and industry.
Yes, of course, it puts Richardson in the public eye, too - which is what Richardson wants, for purposes of his own career and presidential aspirations.
But having a president from New Mexico wouldn't be a bad thing for the people of New Mexico, folks. What would we rather have - a president from Texas? Yuck!
Davenport is a syndicated columnist. She lives in Truchas. Copyright 2005, New Mexico News Services.




