Richardson Shines Through

It was actually enjoyable watching the debate last night, now that the field has been trimmed to a more manageable 4. With Biden, Dodd, and Gravel bowing out, and Kucinich failing to me the criteria that left the Final Four; Obama, Clinton, Edwards, and Governor Bill Richardson.

Chris Cillizza of WaPo's 'The Fix' declares the Governor one of the winners last night:

Bill Richardson: Anyone who has spent time with the governor of New Mexico knows he is tremendously affable and entertaining. But in the debates previous to this one, Richardson seemed to struggle with the format; crowded out for speaking time by the better-known candidates, he always seemed to be trying to pack too much rhetoric into a too-small box. With the field slimmed down (Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden dropped from the race after Iowa and Rep. Dennis Kucinich didn't qualify to participate under the parameters laid out by ABC) Richardson shone. He was still the odd man out as the Big 3 battled for the title of "change agent," but when he did get time to speak, Richardson showed his sense of humor and his deep résumé. "I've been in hostage negotiations that are a lot more civil than this," he said after one particularly heated exchange between Clinton, Obama and John Edwards. Will Richardson's strong performance matter? Probably not. But he deserves credit for giving it.

Post Iowa polling in New Hampshire shows the Obama surge, the Edwards fade, and Governor Bill hovering in 5-7% land. Probably not enough to remain viable without a major blowout by one of the three candidates. But Bill did a nice job of playing peacemaker while playing the 'Can't we all just get along' card. If anything, he boosted his likability numbers, but not necessarily his polling ones.

Tuesday will be a crucial day for his campaign. I am still holding out hope!

Flash

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EXCLUSIVE:5 Minutes with Governor Bill Richardson
EXCLUSIVE:5 Minutes with Sen. Barack Obama