CANDIDATE RICHARDSON STUMPS THE REGION AGAIN

Bill Richardson tells people he is running for president as an
American who happens to be half Hispanic, but for a short while in
Danbury it seemed as though he was just a little bit German, as well.

In town Sunday for a meet-and-greet at the Inn at Danbury's
Oktoberfest, the New Mexico governor spoke briefly about seeing Red
Sox rookie Clay Buchholz pitch a no-hitter at Fenway Park Saturday
night, but spent an hour speaking privately with guests, sampling the
fare, and learning how to make deep-fried potatoes -- German style.

"I brought the Red Sox some good luck," said Richardson, standing on
the stage with the Mad Bavarian Brass Band.

"All kidding aside, this kid's got something," said Richardson,
himself a former pitcher for Tufts University and the amateur Cape Cod
Baseball League and referring to Buchholz.

Linda and Ken Miller came from New London specifically to hear
Richardson. Ken Miller is on the board of the Society for the
Preservation of New Hampshire Forests and was one of the people who
met personally with Richardson.

"He asked some very pertinent questions and seemed genuinely
interested," said Miller, who said he and Linda are still shopping for
a candidate. "We spoke mostly about the preservation of our natural
resources."

With the Millers was their friend Nancy Nichols, who said she was
relatively new to New Hampshire and was impressed that Richardson was
the first to sign the pledge to support the New Hampshire primary. "I
feel so lucky to be here in New Hampshire," said Nichols.

On Aug. 31, Richardson signed the Four State Pledge Letter and, by
doing so, became the first to promise he would not campaign in any
state that schedules a presidential primary or caucus before Feb. 5,
2008.

"The [Democratic National Convention] rules were established for a
purpose -- to allow retail campaigning in a few early states and chose
those states based on geographic and demographic diversity," said
Richardson at the signing. "Each candidate for President should do
whatever possible to preserve the established rules..."

Earlier, Richardson spoke to a packed backyard in Plymouth at the home
of Eva and Rodger Ellsworth.

Giving his usual stump speech, Richardson told his audience as
President he would tackle six priorities in his first six days -- a
withdrawal of all troops from Iraq; improving education and scrapping
the federal No Child Left Behind Act; providing for Universal Health
Care and lowering the eligibility for Medicare from age 65 to age 55;
growing the economy by providing tax incentives to companies who pay
better than average wages and who support green technology; creating
an energy policy to ween the country away from fossil fuels; and
returning the country to constitutionality and the rule of law.

Fielding questions for better than an hour, Richardson spoke to a wide
variety of topics -- from his Hispanic heritage to his condemnation of
the Bush Administration for ordering federal authorities to arrest a
terminally-ill cancer patient in New Mexico for possessing medical
marijuana.

"You want to arrest somebody. Arrest me," said Richardson to cheers
and applause.

Last winter Richardson signed a bill allowing limited use of medical
marijuana for pain relief for the terminally ill.

"I am not for decriminalizing drugs," said Richardson, who said
illegal drug use is a national problem better solved with more
emphasis on education and rehabilitation as well as the enforcement of
drug laws.

Although most in Plymouth seemed satisfied with Richardson's
appearance, one woman was not.

"He did not answer my question," said Fran Taylor who asked Richardson
what specifically he would do to help the many Iraqis who have risked
their lives to help the American effort in that country but have been
denied entrance to the United States.

Responding to Taylor's question, Richardson spoke at length about
creating a Dayton-type accord to bring peace to the area but did not
speak to the question.

Richardson, who joked it would seem like he moved to New Hampshire
because he planned on spending so much time here, had other campaign
stops Sunday in Canterbury and Dover. On Saturday he was in Pelham.