New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is viewed by Democratic insiders as rising to the top of the party’s second-tier presidential candidates, becoming a leading vice-presidential prospect and an increasingly possible nominee for president. ~Robert Novak

I have been paying attention to Richardson as the relatively most serious contender on the Democratic side for a while now, and I think he stands a reasonably good chance of getting the nomination.  When I first heard that he was running, I was very dismissive, because I know something of the man’s record and I don’t like him very much, but compared to the veritable non-records of his main competition he is like a giant among pygmies.  This is not said with any real sense of approval–it simply emphasises how poor the rest of the field is.