RICHARDSON: 'YOU'VE GOT TO BE PART OF CAUSES YOU BELIEVE IN'

While well-funded presidential contenders Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Sen. Barack Obama were jockeying for center stage at the
California Democratic Convention in San Diego over the weekend,
another Democratic presidential candidate ducked out to appear at a
San Francisco rally calling for an end to the genocide in Darfur.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson mounted the stage at Civic Center
Plaza Sunday afternoon, cowboy boots livening up his standard-issue
khakis and navy blazer, and exhorted an earnest crowd of about 600 to
join the Save Darfur Coalition.

"It's not going to get votes," Richardson acknowledged in an interview
with The Chronicle before his speech. "But you've got to be part of
causes you believe in."

The former U.N. ambassador has made three trips to Sudan, visiting
stricken refugees in makeshift camps, negotiating the release of
kidnapped aid workers and pressing President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to
accept U.N. peacekeepers.

Richardson, who has also represented New Mexico in Congress and served
as President Bill Clinton's energy secretary, said he is not worried
about getting blowback for controversial positions he has taken
recently, including supporting New Mexico laws legalizing medical
marijuana and creating concealed-weapon permits, and or for his
endorsement last year by the National Rifle Association.

"I'm not your usual candidate," he said. "But I do believe I have the
most experience. I'm the most electable."

One hot-button issue he has had to confront as governor of a border
state is illegal immigration. He said he is unequivocally opposed to
building a border fence, calling it "a terrible symbol" that sends the
wrong message to a friendly neighbor.

"If I'm president, I'll tear it down myself," he said.

But he does favor tightening border security, calling for a doubling
of the 12,000-strong U.S. Border Patrol and increasing surveillance
technology such as motion sensors and night-vision cameras.

He also supports an "earned legalization plan" for illegal immigrants
in the United States, stiffer enforcement of sanctions on employers
who hire undocumented workers, expanded legal immigration and a
relationship with Mexico that encourages its economic
development.

"Mexico needs to not view this as a cash cow of remittances. It's got
to step up," said Richardson, the first major Latino candidate for
president. "President Calderon, I like his words. He agrees Mexico
bears responsibility. "

On Iraq, Richardson said the war is "a disaster" and he wants to see
all U.S. troops withdrawn by the end of 2007.

"But accompany that with diplomacy," he said. "I want an international
donor conference, including Japan and the European Union, to deal with
Iraq's reconstruction; a security conference, with Iran, Syria and
other Middle East countries to create an all-Muslim peacekeeping
force; and a reconciliation conference led by the United States
forcing the three groups, Sunni, Shia and Kurd, to come together in a
coalition government."

On energy, Richardson said he would work aggressively to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and make America independent of foreign oil.

Richardson has raised just over $6 million so far for his presidential
bid compared with the $36 million amassed by Clinton, $26 million by
Obama and $14 million by former Sen. John Edwards.

But in the online world, Richardson seems to have eclipsed Clinton and
holds third place after Edwards and Obama in unscientific straw polls
conducted by Democratic-leaning Web sites such as MoveOn and Daily
Kos.

Richardson said his experience at the United Nations during the
Clinton administration, where he worked extensively on Iraq, and
leading a variety of international missions, including a trip earlier
this month to North Korea, make him the candidate with the greatest
foreign policy expertise.

"My skill is to bring people together," he said as Sudanese musicians
warmed up nearby. "I'm a great believer in diplomacy."