By ADAM NAGOURNEY
New York Times
January 1, 2008

DES MOINES - Iowa is packed with presidential candidates and hundreds of campaign aides, advisers and contributors. Twenty-five hundred representatives of news organizations have been granted credentials to cover the caucuses Thursday night, twice as many as in 2004. Rarely has a political event been so intensely anticipated as a decisive moment, at least on the Democratic side.

But what if it is not decisive?

What if at the end of Thursday, the three leading Democrats - former Senator John Edwards and Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama - are separated by a percentage point or two, leaving no one with the clear right of delivering a victory speech (or the burden of conceding)? A number of polls going into the final days have suggested that after all of this, the Democratic caucus on Thursday night could end up more or less a tie.

In truth, amid all the endless permutations of outcomes that are being discussed - can Mrs. Clinton, the putative front-runner, survive a third-place finish, or Mr. Edwards a second-place one? - aides are beginning to grapple with the frustrating possibility that all the time, money and political skill invested here might prove to be for naught when it comes to identifying the candidate to beat in the primaries and winnowing the top tier.

"It would be like a six-month trial and a hung jury," said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama. "I think it is really possible."

Rather than clarify the state of play and consolidate this crowded field a bit, an outcome like that would almost certainly muddle things further and potentially extend the time before Democrats know their nominee.

For different reasons, Iowa is not likely to determine much for the Republicans, either. Only Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, and Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, are going all-out here, and whatever happens between them, the Republican race already seems likely to go on at least until the cavalcade of primaries across the country on Feb. 5.

But for the leading Democrats, an inconclusive ending here would be a much more complicated result.

Because none of them would be judged a decisive loser, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama would all be able to go on to the New Hampshire primary next week, no questions asked. And you can bet on this: the other Democrats in the race - Senators Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph R. Biden Jr., Representative Dennis J. Kucinich and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico - would feel less of the morning-after-Iowa pressure to pull out.

It would be hard for any candidate to play the "I beat expectations" game and claim some sort of chimerical victory, much the way Bill Clinton proclaimed himself the winner after coming in second in New Hampshire in 1992 - although Mr. Edwards, who for much of the year campaigned in the shadow of his two rivals, would no doubt try.

"Frankly, if there's a three-way tie, that changes the dynamics of what has been reported the entire year: that it's a two-person race," said Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, the Iowa campaign director for Mr. Edwards, who has put in more than a year preparing for this week. "It changes the way people look at the race, and they'll see it as a three-way race."

It is a good bet, in fact, that one candidate would try to claim a victory, even if it was by a single percentage point or less. Still, that is not likely to get him or her on the cover of Time or Newsweek (that would be the old-school way of measuring the political impact of winning in Iowa). The other two would be left fighting for the right of second place. And politics being politics, it is likely there would be a campaign trying to present a three-way tie as a victory.

Beyond that, New Hampshire, which for Democrats has seemed something like a stepchild in this year's nominating process given all the attention being paid to Iowa, would get a chance to have some real influence over the nomination. For 25 years, there has been debate and study about how the outcome in Iowa affects New Hampshire voters. This time around, because of the decision by the New Hampshire secretary of state, Bill Gardner, to set the primary on Jan. 8, voters will have just five days to examine the candidates and make their decision.

One of the bedrock political assumptions of the year - and certainly one that has informed Mrs. Clinton's campaign - is that winning Iowa and New Hampshire would set the table for sweeping the 20 or so states that vote on Feb. 5, the day when many Democrats believe that their contest will effectively be decided. But if Iowans end up being equally divided among what many party leaders view as an unusually strong cast of candidates, who is to say that voters in the Feb. 5 states won't be as well?

None of this is meant to suggest that such an outcome would mean that what has taken place here over the past year is insignificant. Quite the contrary. Watching these candidates, Democrats and Republicans, deliver their final speeches, take the last rounds of questions from Iowans and shake the hands of supporters one more time, it is apparent that most of them are much better at campaigning than they were a year ago.

Mr. Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, an old Iowa caucus hand who has moved here to help out in the final days, said as much in explaining why he would be comfortable with even an inconclusive outcome. "The experience here in Iowa," he said, "has been tremendous for the entire campaign."

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Disabled Voter's Committee
of the Iowa Democratic Party's
Disabilities Caucus

November 15, 2007

Purpose: The following collection of candidates' statements is hereby provided so that Iowa voters who have disabilities can use the information in making their choice of the next President of the United States.

Note: Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel and Congressman Dennis Kucinich do not have Iowa campaign offices. Senator Barack Obama is the only candidate who specifically addressed the issues listed on the Iowa Democratic Party Disability Caucus Issues List. Senators Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Edwards and Governor Richardson answered a questionnaire from the A.A.P.D.; all information relating to issues is from that document and the candidates' websites and other published materials. The materials were all used with permission of the candidates' campaigns.

Issues: These are the issues that the Disability Caucus of the Iowa Democratic Party Disabled Voters' Committee chose as the most important because of their significant impact on the live of people who have disabilities. The Committee asked all the Presidential candidates for their positions on these issues.

1. Do you have a comprehensive, universal healthcare plan?

Sen. Joseph Biden supports universal health care to ensure that all Americans, including those with disabilities, have access to affordable, quality health care. He thinks we will get to universal health care by: (1) focusing on reducing the cost of health care; (2) covering all kids; (3) giving everyone access to, at a minimum, the same health care plans that members of Congress have; and (4) lowering the cost of providing health insurance for employers and providing catastrophic coverage.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has a plan that stresses simplicity, cost control, and consumer choice. It is the American Health Choices Plan, which greatly improves care for Americans with disabilities by guaranteeing them coverage. People with disabilities will have more health insurance options under this plan because they will be able to choose from an array of private health insurance plans that offer benefits like those offered to Members of Congress, as well as a public program similar to Medicare. Insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage or charging higher premiums for individuals with pre-existing conditions and they will be prohibited from charging significantly higher premiums based on medical condition, age, gender, or occupation. The American Health Choices Plan preserves and expands existing critical support programs that fill gaps in private insurance. It will also provide tax credits to assure that no American's health insurance premium exceeds a certain percentage of income and the Best Practices Institute will fund medical research and disseminate this information to health care professionals and patients. The American Health Choices Plan requires coverage of important prevention service to diagnose and treat illnesses before they become serious and require expensive intervention because it involves the use of privacy-protected information technology and the empowerment of physicians to be a part of the quality development process. In addition, since persons with disabilities who have chronic health conditions may often need coordinated care services, the Clinton plan revises reimbursement to health care providers to provide incentives for the development of innovative models of care including "medical homes" and chronic care management.

Sen. Chris Dodd would ensure that all Americans will have quality, affordable health coverage. He will create a health insurance marketplace called Universal HealthMart that is based on, and parallel to, the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). The Dodd plan would include business and individual contributions based on the ability to pay. It will have premiums that are affordable based on leveraged negotiating power, spreading risk, reduced administrative costs, and incentives for technology and prevention care. It will also have portable coverage; insurance purchased at Universal HealthMart will follow individuals.

Sen. John Edwards understands that health case is of special concern to people with disabilities. His plan guarantees universal coverage for everyone in America. Under his plan, families without insurance will receive coverage at an affordable price and families that have insurance will pay less and get more security and choices. Managed care should be a choice for people with disabilities and they need access to specialists that is now artificially limited by narrow definitions of medical necessity.

Mike Gravel proposes a universal healthcare voucher program in which the federal government would issue annual healthcare vouchers to Americans based on their projected needs. All Americans would be fully covered and would be free to use their vouchers to choose their own healthcare professional. No one would ever be denied health insurance because of their health, wealth, or any other reason.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich would streamline national health insurance to create "Enhanced Medicare for Everyone". It would be publicly financed health care, privately delivered, and would put patients and doctors back in control of the system. Coverage would be more complete than private insurance plans, encourage prevention, and include prescription drugs, dental care, mental health care, and alternative and complementary medicine.

Sen. Barack Obama is committed to ensuring that all Americans have health care coverage by the end of his first term in office. He recognizes that people with disabilities experience difficulties gaining access to quality health care. As president, Sen. Obama will require all health care providers to collect, analyze, and report data on the quality of health care given to vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities. This will improve care and health outcomes. His plan will also help people with disabilities by emphasizing care coordination and integration, which can dramatically improve care for patients with multiple conditions and doctors. Sen. Obama also supports additional training of health care workers so that they are better able to address the needs of the disabled populations.

Gov. Bill Richardson's plan for universal coverage would ensure that Americans with or without disabilities would have access to affordable, guaranteed coverage.

2. What is your plan for total consumer control of prescription drug programs?

Sen. Joseph Biden will work to expand access to Medicare Part D for people with disabilities. He supports allowing the Federal Government to directly negotiate for better drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies which would lower the cost to consumers. He will also close the "doughnut hole" gap in coverage that occurs once someone hits $2,250 in coverage.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has been actively involved with ensuring fair and equal access to Medicare Part D prescription drugs. She introduced legislation in the Senate to help the most vulnerable seniors and disabled Americans transition to new Medicare plans. As president, she will continue to fight for fair access to Medicare Part D prescriptions and to ensure that policies do not undermine continuity of care for any population served. Sen. Clinton also believes that we need to have a better understanding of the best pharmaceutical treatment options for all patients. Thus, she proposes establishing an independent public-private Best Practices Institute, which would be a partnership between the public and private sector that would let doctors, nurses, and other health professionals know what drugs, devices, surgeries, and treatments work best.

Sen. Chris Dodd will assure that people with disabilities have fair access to Medicare Part D by requiring Medicare to negotiate drug prices and immediately eliminating the so-called "doughnut hole" in Medicare Part D drug plans.

Sen. John Edwards believes that the federal government must ensure that Medicare Part D participants are able to access the prescription drugs they need to maintain their health and independence. As president, he will rewrite the drug bill to put patients and people above drug companies and HMO's, empower the government to negotiate better drug prices, and allow the safe reimprtation of drugs from other countries.

Sen. Barack Obama worked with Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) to urge the Department of Health and Human Services to provide clear and reliable information on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to ensure that the Medicare recipients were protected from fraudulent claims by marketers and drug plan agents.

Gov. Bill Richardson will establish programs in each state to ensure that people with disabilities are made aware of all options available to them under Medicare Part D.

3. How will you adequately fund Medicaid waivers and other programs that facilitate independent living?

Sen. Joseph Biden was an original cosponsor of the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA), which would provide a variety of personal assistance services under the Medicaid program to enable disabled individuals to live at home rather than in institutions. He cosponsored the Family Opportunity Act to allow low-income families with disabled children to buy into the Medicaid program. He cosponsored the Lifespan Respite Care Act, which would facilitate the provision of temporary rest breaks (respite care) for caregivers who take care of a chronically ill or disabled individual. Sen. Biden sponsored legislation to protect children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities by providing non-profit groups that work with or care for such individuals with easy access to thorough, efficient criminal background checks through a national center on volunteer and provider screening.

Sen. Hillary Clinton understands that people with disabilities need assurance that individuals who provide direct-care services in home- and community-based settings are in sufficient supply and are well-trained. Therefore, addressing the shortage of health-care professionals and increasing choice of providers is critical to improving access to care for community-based services. The American Health Choices Plan addresses this issue by providing funding to schools of nursing to recruit and train faculty. Sen. Clinton believes that the Medicare homebound rule has been enforced in a far too restrictive manner and, as President, she will embrace a fair modification of Medicare rules so that Americans with disabilities are able to live their lives fully, without fear of losing their Medicare benefits. Sen. Clinton co-sponsored the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act, which provides individuals with disabilities and older Americans with equal access to community-based attendant services and supports. She believes the Olmstead opinion was a tremendously important moment in the disability movement and will support efforts to help states comply with it.

Sen. Chris Dodd will support creation of additional community-based options for individuals with disabilities because he understands their right to live their lives to the fullest in whatever setting they choose. In a Dodd Administration, Medicaid policy will not be stacked against community living. Sen. Dodd's Living with Dignity Initiative includes specific steps to attract, support, and retain home health aides and attendants; he will provide resources to improve wages, training, and working conditions for aides and will also establish strong workplace safety regulations such as ergonomics regulations.

Sen. John Edwards supports providing choices for people with disabilities to live in the community and will support legislation that strengthens freedom of choice. He has proposed a Living with Dignity Initiative that will fund state efforts to expand home care and reform the long-term care, including tax credits for long-term care, asset and income protection programs that prevent families from spending above their incomes, and experiments with long-term care insurance. He will also support the recruitment and retention of home care workers through better wages, training, and working conditions. His plan guarantees quality, affordable health care for American; it will strengthen Medicaid support for long-term care and emphasize home and community-based care to allow caregivers to keep their family members nearby.

Sen. Edwards believes that people with disabilities should be able to fully enjoy the benefits of living in a home of their choosing and in a community of their choosing. His Living with Dignity Initiative includes specific steps to attract, support, and retain home health aides and attendants.

Sen. Barack Obama believes that individuals who want to remain in the community and can safely do so should be provided the necessary assistance and supports. Therefore, he would increase funding for both HCBS and Independent Living Programs and prioritize efforts to streamline application and administrative requirements for states which choose to implement or expand these initiatives.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports providing choices for people with disabilities to live in the community. He would increase the wages of care attendants.

4. How would you create a standardization of government entitlement programs, e.g., housing, medical care, and income supplementation?

Sen. Barack Obama would standardize and coordinate government entitlement programs to make them more user-friendly. He believes that too many Medicare and Medicaid "dual eligibles" are subject to time-consuming
and complicated administrative processes that delay access to care and can result in lower quality care. He supports streamlining the benefits process for individuals with disabilities so that people receive the care they require in a timely manner. Both programs should give individuals with disabilities more information about the care to which they are entitled to receive under both programs so that decisions about care can be made in a unified manner. He also believes that the demonstrations projects that the Community Choices Act of 2007 seeks to create to improve coordination between benefits received by dual Medicare and Medicaid recipients are an important step to undertake in addressing this problem.

5. Do you support an ADA affirmative action provision like the one in the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Sen. Joseph Biden co-sponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, which extended the civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities. He will ensure that United States Supreme Court and other federal judges follow established precedent and Congressional intent with respect to the ADA and all other civil rights laws, thereby preserving equal rights for people who have disabilities and other minorities. Sen. Biden understands that the greatest barrier to full integration of individuals with Disabilities into mainstream society is not the limitations of their individual disability, but rather, it is the physical and attitudinal barriers imposed by society.

Sen. Hillary Clinton was a co-sponsor of a Senate Resolution that recognized and honored the fifteenth anniversary of the ADA because she is a strong believer in the value of the ADA. As president, she pledges to uphold the values intrinsic in the ADA and she will welcome advocacy groups to meet with her administration and voice their concerns. She will appoint judges who understand and respect the value of civil rights.

Sen. Chris Dodd supports an ADA Restoration Act because of the incremental erosion of the rights guaranteed by the ADA by the courts.

Sen. John Edwards is committed to protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities with full enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. He will ensure that the ADA remains consistent with the original intent of Congress.

Sen. Barack Obama is a former civil rights lawyer. Therefore, he knows firsthand the importance of strong protections for minority communities in our society. He is committed to strengthening and better enforcing the ADA so that future generations of Americans with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities. Sen. Obama believes we must restore the original legislative intent of the ADA in the wake of court decisions that have restricted the interpretation of this landmark legislation. He supports the ADA Restoration Act, a law that would bring us closer to the ADA's ideal of barring discrimination against anyone on the basis of disability.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports an ADA Restoration Act because the ADA has been seriously weakened by Supreme Court decisions.

6. Do you support insurance coverage for mental health treatment that is equal to treatment for physical health treatment, i.e. mental health parity?

Sen. Joseph Biden was a cosponsor of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act and remains committed to the goals of that Act as a cosponsor of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007.

Sen. Hillary Clinton believes that government must ensure parity in health insurance coverage of mental health benefits. She cosponsored the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, which prohibits employers and health plans from imposing durational treatment limits and financial limitations on coverage for mental illness that do not apply to all other medical conditions.

Sen. Chris Dodd has long supported and will continue to support efforts to ensure mental health parity for all Americans because he believes that it is essential that we require employers and health plans to cover treatment for mental health conditions on the same basis of all other illnesses. A Dodd Administration would not only pass mental health parity legislation, it would strongly enforce it.

Sen. John Edwards believes mental illness and physical illness must get the same insurance coverage. He has long supported mental health parity legislation; he co-sponsored the Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act.

Sen. Barack Obama supports efforts to increase federal support for researching and fighting mental illnesses, as well as legislative efforts to mandate that private insurers cover physical and mental illnesses in a similar manner. He will make combating mental health and substance abuse disorders a higher priority. This is why he supported the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, which requires employers and insurance companies that offer mental health coverage to provide parity between mental health and physical health coverage.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports mental health parity legislation because he believes it is time for us to treat behavioral health issues the same as we treat other medical disorders.

7. How will you reduce the number of individuals with serious mental illnesses who are in the criminal justice system?

Sen. Barack Obama believes that tackling the problem of the high number of mentally ill prisoners will require a concerted effort to reach out to and provide treatment for the mentally ill before some end up in the criminal justice system. He supports efforts to increase federal support for researching and fighting mental illnesses, as well as legislative efforts to mandate private insurers to cover physical and mental illnesses in a similar manner. He will make combating mental health and substance abuse disorders a higher priority. He supported the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. Sen. Obama will also help state and local governments improve the availability of mental health services, train their law enforcement personnel to recognize the signs of mental illness in offenders, and give prosecutors more tools to deal appropriately with mentally ill offenders. He is a strong supporter of the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004, and, as president, will ensure that it is adequately funded. He also supports improving our background check system to keep guns from ending up in the hands of people who are mentally ill.

8. How do you plan to fully include people who have disabilities in all phases of disaster planning and hazard mitigation?

Sen. Joseph Biden will guarantee that people who have disabilities are fully included by appointing activists with disabilities to the Homeland Security agencies. He will also fully fund Homeland Security.

Sen. Barack Obama passed legislation to require states to properly plan the evacuation of special needs individuals because one of the most devastating aspects of Hurricane Katrina is that most of the stranded victims were society's most vulnerable members—low-income families, the elderly, the homeless, and Americans with disabilities. He knows that too many states and cities do not have adequate plans in place to care for special-needs populations. He believes that the legislation is only the first step in ensuring that the most vulnerable individuals in local and national emergencies are adequately safeguarded.

More Issues: Here are other statements from the Presidential candidates with respect to issues of importance to people who have disabilities.

IDEA

Sen. Joseph Biden has repeatedly voted in favor of the federal government fulfilling its original commitment to pay forty percent of the costs of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Sen. Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called for full funding of IDEA. She also cosponsored the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act, which would significantly improve access to instructional materials for students who are blind or have other print disabilities by creating an efficient system for acquiring and distributing these materials in special formats, including Braille, large print, synthesized speech, digital text, and digital audio. Sen. Clinton also cosponsored the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act, which strengthened IDEA by expanding monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and enabling parents and schools to resolve disputes adequately while also improving access to professional development for all teachers.

Sen. Chris Dodd believes that the time has come to fully fund IDEA and his action will reflect his commitment on this issue. He will take a more aggressive approach to enforcement by instructing the Department of Education to establish clear, objective, and publicly available criteria for applying sanctions, funding and directing an immediate review of compliance across the states, and ensuring that sanctions are then fully applied.

Sen. John Edwards intends to strengthen federal enforcement of IDEA by the Department of Education so children with disabilities receive the free, appropriate education they deserve and to which they are legally entitled. He will appoint strong enforcement officials, nominate fair judges, provide adequate resources, and exercise leadership to make enforcement of IDEA a priority.

Sen. Barack Obama is a strong supporter of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and has supported increases in funding to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

Gov. Bill Richardson would withhold federal funding for school districts that are out of compliance with IDEA.

Transportation

Sen. Joseph Biden would expand access to affordable, accessible transportation for people with disabilities; he has consistently supported expansion of accessible public transportation options.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is very aware that providing meaningful transportation opportunities to people with disabilities is an invaluable first step in empowering individuals to fulfill their potential and live self-sufficiently. She has consistently supported the Community Service Block Grant Program, which traditionally helps fund and support transportation projects (among other projects). She has also tried to secure funding for agencies that provide transportation services to those individuals who have disabilities.

Sen. Chris Dodd includes as part of his energy plan to increase access to affordable and convenient mass transit systems that are fully accessible to people with disabilities across all regions of the country.

Sen. John Edwards understands that accessible transportation is a critical component of increased work opportunities for people with disabilities because for most jobs, you cannot work if you cannot get from your house to the job site. He supports increasing federal funding for nonprofit groups to meet the transportation need of people with disabilities when public mass transit is not available and he intends to increase funding and enforcement of transportation access requirements under federal law. Sen. Edwards believes that, since the federal government has the power through Section 504, it must enforce the law to ensure that efforts like clearing snow and removing standing water are done because these can be very important in ensuring accessibility.

Sen. Barack Obama believes Congress must enact pending transportation reauthorization legislation without further delay and make provisions for accessible options for individuals with disabilities, including highways, mass transit, commuter rail, and air transportation improvements.

Gov. Bill Richardson will work with the disability community and the National Council of Disability to address the transportation shortages and problems throughout the U.S.

Voting

Sen. Joseph Biden supported the Help America Vote Act and will work to ensure its enforcement, including the requirements that enable people to case their ballot privately and that every polling location be accessible for people with disabilities.

Sen. Hillary Clinton authored legislation, the Count Every Vote Act, which requires that at least one voting machine per precinct allows voters who have disabilities and language minority voters to cast a vote in a private and independent manner.

Sen. Chris Dodd, as the primary author of the Help America Vote Act, worked to ensure that new voting protections for persons with disabilities were included in the final legislation. He is cosponsoring new legislation to provide for a voter-verified paper ballot record while preserving full access for persons with disabilities.

Sen. John Edwards will ensure that voters with disabilities are able to vote privately and independently, consistent with the requirements of HAVA. He will help every precinct provide enough trained poll workers and secure voting machines that are physically accessible to all. He believes that voting rights is an example of an area where the disability community provides the best information about which ballot systems work best and his administration will have an ongoing dialogue with the community to ensure meaningful disability voting rights protections.

Sen. Barack Obama believes that Americans with disabilities would be among the most disenfranchised by recent efforts to require mandatory photo identification at polling places because more than three million Americans with disabilities lack a government-issue form of identification. Therefore, he opposed unreasonable voter identification requirements and believes that the constitutional rights of individuals with disabilities should be safeguarded.

Gov. Bill Richardson made each of New Mexico's 1,200 polling sites HAVA compliant.

International Civil Rights

Sen. Joseph Biden supported the United States signing, and then ratifying, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Sen. Hillary Clinton believes the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was undertaken with the same goals that the U.S. had in enacting the ADA, namely, the goals of empowering individuals with disabilities and integrating these individuals into all aspects of society. She will champion these principles as president.

Sen. Chris Dodd supports U.S. ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because people with disabilities around the world deserve these rights and protections.

Sen. John Edwards supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Sen. Barack Obama supports the United States' ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty to be approved by the UN in the 21st Century.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

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Here's my wish list for the Presidential candidates (will we find them under our tree?)

1. Each campaign will have a PWD as a disability outreach coordinator (such as Richardson has this year, Dean and Gore have had in prior years).

   
   

2. Each campaign will have a panel of disability activists in contact with each other on a regular basis to formulate policy which is posted on the campaign website, such as Dean, Kerry and Clark had four years ago.

   
   

3. All campaign websites will be compliant with Section 508, to assure access to visually impaired individuals, such as Clinton has this year.

   
   

4. All campaigns will have designated PWD "communities" which are posted on the Home Page of their websites, such as several had during the last cycle, and not unofficial "grass roots" organizations which are difficult to find.

   
   

5. All campaigns will have a policy to assure access to campaign events for all types of disabilities, such as Dean and Clark had four years ago, and post it on its web site.

   
   

6. All campaigns will agree to assure that a minimum of 5 to 10% of their delegates to the national convention, 5 to 10% of their represenatives on the Convention's be persons with disabilities, and assure that persons with disabilities will be part of their staff at the Convention.

   
   

7. All campaigns (including the winning Democratic campaign) agree to target the 15-16% of voters with disabilities.

   
   

8. Governor Richardson will resolve his problems with the disability community in his home state of New Mexico regarding funding for Money Follows the Person, kiss and make up with them, and have them say that they're satisfied with the result.

   
   

Four years ago, Governor Dean set the bar for disability access and involvement in campaigns, with several, including Kerry and Clark following suit. Also, former Congressman Tony Coelho, a prominent party leader, issued a challenge to all of the candidates to adopt his employment program, including enforcement of President Clinton's Executive Order to hire 100,000 PWDs on the federal payroll. While the appointment of a disability outreach coordinator for Governor Richardson (who certainly needs one, considering the problems he has experienced with his own constitutents), is a step forward, we seem to still be far behind where we were four years ago at this point.

I am encouraged by the level of involvement of our community in the Iowa caucuses, and I hope this will be duplicated throughout the country this year.

I encourage all of you to become involved in the disability outreach of the candidate of your choice. And, while we're at it, we need to challenge our favored candidate to meet and exceed the goals on this "wish list."

Can you add to this?

Will Santa be coming down our chimneys this year?

Marvin

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We just finished this video and we wanted you to see it immediately. And we want you to share it with at least ten other Democrats.

It illustrates Bill Richardson's Iraq policy and why he is different than every other Democrat running for president. He is the only candidate to insist on a total and immediate withdrawal -- one that leaves no troops behind.

The other candidates would leave tens of thousands of American troops in Iraq for years to come to pay the ultimate price for George Bush's irresponsible leadership.

For instance, Senator Clinton has said that the differences between the candidates are minor. But she would leave American troops in Iraq until the end of her second term -- in 2017!

Every Democrat needs to know that critical difference before he or she votes in the primaries.

Spend the next four minutes watching this video. Then forward it to at least ten Democrats. Ask them to spend four minutes watching it, too. And tell them, "If you truly support ending the war and bringing home all our troops, Bill Richardson is your only choice."

If every supporter of Bill Richardson does that, we can win New Hampshire. We can win Iowa. And we can win the White House.

But most importantly, America will win. Because we will finally be able to move beyond George Bush's disaster in Iraq in a way that strengthens our nation, stabilizes the region, and restores our moral leadership in the world.

Thank you for your continued support -- and for doing your part to spread Bill Richardson's message of hope far and wide.

Sincerely,
Amanda Cooper
Deputy Campaign Manager

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By ADAM NAGOURNEY & JEFF ZELENY
September 23, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/us/politics/23dems.html?
em&ex=1190779200&en=30b28e4edafe56a2&ei=5087%0A

WASHINGTON, September 22 - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has consolidated her early lead in the Democratic presidential contest, showing steady strength as the candidates head toward the first voting early next year.

She has been challenged for fund-raising supremacy and news media attention by Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina beat her to the punch in introducing big policy proposals. But nothing that her main rivals have done has so far has derailed Mrs. Clinton, leading them to begin rolling out aggressive new strategies aimed primarily at her, including courting black voters in South Carolina and stepping up attacks.

She has maintained solid leads in most national polls. And while polls in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire are of limited value in predicting the outcome, they too show her more than holding her own entering the period in which primary voters begin to make up their minds.

"I think they've run a great campaign," David Axelrod, Mr. Obama's senior adviser, said of Mrs. Clinton, of New York. "She's been a very disciplined candidate. They?ve been deft in trying to get ahead of this tidal wave of people out there who really want change. They are doing the best they can with it."

But Mr. Axelrod, pointing to what he saw as Mrs. Clinton's foremost vulnerability, said: "The question is ultimately, Is she credible - whether people buy her as an agent of change in Washington. If they do, she'll do well."

A senior adviser to Mr. Edwards, Joe Trippi, said: "You used to be able to say the front-runners - her and Obama - but I don?t think that's the case anymore. It's pretty clear that she has sort of pulled away."

Mr. Obama is moving to deal directly with what his advisers said continued to be his weaker flank - concerns about his experience - with a burst of television advertisements that began this week in Iowa and will continue next week in New Hampshire. Mr. Edwards, trying to shake things up in a race where most of the attention has been focused on Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, has started what aides say will be an escalating series of attacks on Mrs. Clinton.

Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards face tough decisions in the weeks ahead.

They see the same path to victory - which includes turning the contest into a two-person race with Mrs. Clinton - but are concerned that attacks on one another would only end up helping her.

Mr. Obama's decision to address the experience issue so directly came despite the concern of some associates about inviting new attention to a weakness. And Mr. Edwards's decision to tackle Mrs. Clinton could have the unintended effect of helping Mr. Obama in states like Iowa, where caucus voters often recoil at the sight of two-candidate spats.

There is almost daily evidence that the Democratic presidential campaign has moved into a lively new phase in which campaigns are not passing up any opportunities to win over voters.

Mr. Obama's aides are organizing black hair salon owners in South Carolina, a deep-seated social network that advisers said would be critical to pushing a historic black turnout that Mr. Obama hopes can deliver him victory there. In Iowa, the Obama campaign is signing up high school students who will be old enough to vote in the general election and can participate in caucuses.

Mrs. Clinton, after winning a burst of attention by rolling out a detailed health care plan this week, is planning similar speeches in the weeks ahead on education and energy. Mr. Edwards, who campaigned in all 99 Iowa counties in 2004, hit his 76th county on Friday as he made his way across the state to see if the people who supported him in 2004 were still with him.

The three leading contenders have also adopted decidedly different views of how the race will play out. Mrs. Clinton's advisers argued that it would probably end on February 5 when about 20 states vote. Though only 50 percent of the delegates will be selected by that day, the Clinton advisers suggested that one candidate would be so far ahead that there would be huge pressure on the other Democrats to rally around the leader.

Mr. Obama has begun preparing for a much more protracted campaign, arguing that it will be in effect a hunt for delegates that could last well into the spring. To that end, he is competing in some unlikely places - New York, for example, where he is holding a rally in Washington Square Park on Thursday - because under Democratic rules, delegates are allocated to candidates based on the percentage of votes they win.

And Mr. Edwards is looking for a victory in Iowa to bounce him to victory in New Hampshire, drawing a shot of attention and contributions that his aides argued would allow him to sweep through the February 5 states.

But if there is one dominant sentiment in the Obama and Edwards camps these days, it is concern that Mrs. Clinton continues to do so well. On Friday, Mr. Obama released a television advertisement in which he talked about the lessons he learned about health care from the death of his mother, the kind of emotional personal anecdote that candidates normally hold back until the end.

Though these three candidates have dominated the race, there are signs that Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico has made inroads. Other candidates - in particular, Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut - are seen as far less likely to win any primaries. But they could affect the tone of the race based on the issues they press and if they choose to try to take on one of the leading candidates.

Although polls at this point in a campaign are notoriously unpredictable, the fact that Mrs. Clinton is leading in many of them is clearly influencing the way candidates, and the news media, view the race. And Mrs. Clinton is trying to use her standing to overcome a perceived obstacle: that she is tarnished by her White House years and cannot win a general election.

These same polls stirred some concern among Mr. Obama's supporters that he has not yet capitalized on the early excitement that surrounded his campaign.

"It would have been nice if he had taken the lead during the summer and increased the lead going into the fall, but in realistic terms, this is as good as it can get," said Tom Miller, the Iowa attorney general, who is a supporter of Mr. Obama. He added, "The key was to get the burst, stabilize it and make a run in the end."

Mr. Axelrod said that Mr. Obama's campaign had made a deliberate decision to hold off the bulk of its advertising money until now, when more people are paying attention, and that he was not concerned about polls or perceptions. Mr. Obama spent $1.5 million on television advertisements in Iowa, a substantial amount that Iowa Democrats said has not appeared to improve his standing significantly.

And some of Mr. Obama's advisers said Mrs. Clinton had done a far better job in dealing with one of her biggest tasks - trying to present herself as a candidate of change, notwithstanding her 15 years in Washington - than Mr. Obama had with the experience question. In the final week of August, Mr. Obama expressed frustration to some of his close associates at the course of his campaign, saying he felt his message was adrift, and personally took to rewriting some of the basic themes.

"I was confused initially on this whole experience argument," he told supporters here recently, "because I've been in public service for 20 years as a community organizer, as a civil rights attorney, as a law professor, as a state senator, as a United States senator. And so I was a little puzzled, but I came to realize what they really mean by this argument is that I haven't gotten enough seasoning in Washington."

Reflecting his successful fund-raising, Mr. Obama has spent millions to build a field operation in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, and has enough money to build organizations in other states.

"We wouldn?t be putting staff in Colorado and California if we weren't comfortable with our financial picture," said David Plouffe, the Obama campaign manager. In Iowa alone, the Obama campaign is preparing to open its 31st field office, which is more than Mr. Edwards or Mrs. Clinton have.

"They are doing the fundamental organizational building that Dean overlooked," said John Norris, an Obama supporter in Iowa, who managed John Kerry's winning caucus campaign over Howard Dean four years ago. But the Democrats have all shied away from sustained attacks on one another. Mr. Axelrod, who was a senior adviser to Mr. Edwards in 2004, said he had learned the pitfalls of attacks in a field of multiple candidates.

"This history of these things is you can?t treat the process, to borrow Obama?s phrase, like a game of bumper cars," he said. "You bump someone, you never know who else might drive past you."

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I've been completely open about what I believe we need to do to end the war in Iraq.

I've repeatedly called for a complete withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq. There's no confusion or ambiguity or waffling in my position: just bring ALL of the troops home. No excuses. No delays. No troops left behind.

At last week's debate in Iowa I asked the other Democrats on that stage, several of whom return to Congress next week hopefully to begin debating the war again, how many troops would you leave behind?

How have the other major candidates responded to this simple question? Silence. We know they're all on record as being against the war. But we still don't know for sure how many troops they would leave in Iraq and for how long.

I think it is time to get some straight answers. Join me in calling for the Democratic debate to include a direct question of all the candidates: How many troops would you leave behind? How long would you leave them in Iraq?

The inside-the-beltway conventional thinking says a complete withdrawal is "irresponsible." Of course, this is the same thinking that concluded it was responsible to invade Iraq to hunt WMDs in the fist place, that continuing to fund the war is the way to end it, and that the so-called "surge" is a success.

I think it is irresponsible to continue with half-measures and incremental steps when what we need is a clean break. No drawn-out, Vietnam-style withdrawal. No stalling. The responsible path now is to get all of our troops out as quickly as possible. After the damage Bush has wrought, we can't be afraid of big changes based on solid logic and grounded experience.

I've met and successfully negotiated with leaders from the region (including Saddam Hussein himself) -- and my concrete experience tells me only a complete withdrawal will break the deadlock and allow us to move forward, toward real change. As long as our troops are there, the Iraqis will delay reconciliation. It is time to get our troops out of harm's way in a civil war, and it is time to get our lingering presence in Iraq out of the way of the diplomatic process.

And I believe we must withdraw our troops as quickly as possible. After the first Gulf War, we redeployed nearly a half a million troops in a few months. In this war, our military leaders have successfully rotated as many as 240,000 troops in and out of Iraq in as few as three months. I believe we can remove approximately 162,000 troops now quickly and safely. Now, it is just a matter of having a real debate, and then having the political will to call for real solutions.

If we elect a President who thinks that troops should stay in Iraq for years, they will stay there for years. Now is the time to get the answers we need. It is time to demand more than sound bites, uncertainty, and non-answers to important questions. It is time to demand real answers based on real experience and a commitment to real, and realistic, change.

You know where I stand -- and what I would do as President.

Senator Clinton? Senator Obama? Senator Edwards? How about you?

Will you bring all the troops home? If not, how many would you leave behind? For how long?

Let's get the question of residual troops on the table at the Democratic candidates' debate next Sunday, September 9th at the University of Miami. Let's get the answers the voters and the public deserve.

Sign my petition to Univision, the debate sponsors, asking them to clearly ask the question, and to demand clear answers.

This is not a theoretical question -- it's a concrete one, and it deserves a concrete answer. Our men and women in uniform are not an abstraction. They are our family, our friends, our neighbors. It is time for answers we can count on.

Sincerely,

Governor Bill Richardson

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Some say that all of the Democratic Presidential candidates have basically the same position on Iraq. I disagree.

I'd pull all of our troops out in 6-8 months. The other major candidates would leave some troops behind indefinitely.

That's a major difference -- any way you look at it.

On Sunday, at the ABC debate in Iowa, I asked the other candidates point blank: how many troops would you leave behind? 25,000? 50,000? 75,000? For how long?

I didn't get an answer.

The big campaigns, with their huge media budgets, think they can drown out our differences and control the conversation on Iraq.
My campaign depends on the grassroots support -- people like you -- to help us carry the truth of our message across the country.

Make a contribution -- just $20 is enough to make a difference -- and I'll invite you to join other supporters on Thursday, August 30th for a conference call on which I will present my plan for how we can end the war quickly and get all of our troops out.

No dodging the tough questions -- I want to tell you directly why I believe anything less than a plan that pulls out all the troops as quickly as possible isn't a plan to end the war at all.

The Iraqis must rebuild their own country, and they won't make the tough political compromises until they know we're serious about turning the country over to them. It is becoming increasingly clear you can't end the war AND leave troops behind. Pulling our troops out won't cause a civil war; our troops are targets in a civil war right now. We must redeploy them out of Iraq and then secure the region.

The Bush Administration has been using half-measures since this war started, and now we have to make a decision -- it is either in or out; now or after more people die. You can't have it both ways.

Saying that all Democrats have the same position because "any" Democrat would end the war eventually is a cop out. Saying there is no military solution in Iraq and then advocating leaving US troops behind to find the military solution you just said doesn't exist is nuts.

I am the only candidate committed to changing the conventional wisdom on Iraq. I am the only candidate with the diplomatic experience to get all our troops out and bring the Iraqi factions together. Join me on August 30th and I'll tell you how.

We'll have much to discuss on this conference call. I'll explain the plan, take your questions and we'll strategize on how to get my message out to more Americans.

There are options. There are solutions. We don't have to choose between change and experience.

We don't have to leave troops behind.

There is another way.

Thank you for your help,

Bill Richardson

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ELECTION 2008

Democratic Presidential Candidate Richardson Unveils Universal Health Care Plan That Would Expand Preventive Coverage

Presidential candidate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) on Tuesday announced a proposal that would extend health insurance to the 45 million U.S. residents who lack coverage and would not require a tax increase, the Washington Post reports. Under the proposal, all residents would have to obtain health insurance (MacGillis, Washington Post, August 8). The proposal would:

• Allow residents ages 55 to 64 to pay to participate in Medicare, expand Medicaid and SCHIP to include more low-income children and families and allow young adults to continue to receive health insurance through the policies of their parents until age 25;
  
  
• Provide tax credits on a sliding income scale to help residents purchase health insurance (Glover, AP/Houston Chronicle, August 7);
  
  
• Allow residents and small businesses to purchase the same health insurance offered to members of Congress and the president;
  
  
• Mandate that health insurers no longer can deny coverage to residents with pre-existing medical conditions;
  
  
• Provide veterans with a "Heroes Health Card" that would expand their access to health care;
  
  
• Require employers to pay a share of health insurance costs for employees;
  
  
• Limit interest rates applied to health care costs charged to credit cards;
  
  
• Allow the federal government to negotiate prices directly with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Petroski, Des Moines Register, August 8);
  
  
• Establish incentives for preventive care programs; and
  
  
• Improve health care efficiency though increased use of technology and other measures (AP/Houston Chronicle, August 7).

Richardson said that the proposal would cost an estimated $110 billion annually but that savings from the plan would cover the cost (Washington Post, August 8).

He said, "Despite Republican hand-wringing about the cost of universal care, it is clear that the cost of doing something -- in lives and dollars -- pales in comparison to the cost of doing nothing" (Des Moines Register, August 8). Richardson added, "My plan does not build a new bureaucracy. The last thing we need between patients and doctors is another sticky web of red tape" (AP/Houston Chronicle, August 7).

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Monday night's CNN/YouTube debate was a breath of fresh air. Finally, it was the people, not media personalities, deciding what to ask.

But good, honest questions are not enough if you never get a chance to answer them.

I couldn't be happier with the answers I gave and the stands I took, but this song and dance is getting old. Every time we have a major media outlet debate, two or three of the candidates get most of the questions and most of the time while every other candidate is left with a fraction of the time, and a fraction of the questions. And some of the most important questions go unanswered.

I think there is a better way. Rather than trying to make the old media change their ways, I'm going to go straight to the source: you.

Today we've launched a new feature on our campaign site that we're calling "Ask Bill." I love answering questions, and I love talking directly to people, so that is exactly what "Ask Bill" will be -- direct questions, direct answers, directly to you.

You submit your questions through video, email or an online form -- whatever works for you. And I'll answer them on video -- clearly, honestly, and without any pundits cutting me off.

Just direct answers to direct questions. Submit your Ask Bill question now.

I wish I could get to every living room in this country, shake every voter's hand, and talk about the issues that matter in the campaign. But I can't, so I'm doing the next best thing.

We're going to upend the status quo and skip the media middleman. Direct questions, direct answers. That is the strategy we've been using in living rooms and meeting rooms across the country -- and our rising poll numbers show it's working.

Want to know more about my experience negotiating with the world's toughest dictators? You won't get that answer on the CNN debate -- but you will from "Ask Bill." Want to know my favorite flavor of ice cream? I'll take that question too. ¿Quiere saber cómo aumentaré el sueldo de maestros? Pregúnteme ahora- en inglés o en español- y contestaré en cualquiera.

Have a question for me? Ask it -- submit your "Ask Bill" question on the website now.

I want to let everyone know exactly where I stand and what I will do as President.

You just have to ask.

Thank you,

Bill Richardson

P.S. Our position of bringing home ALL of our troops from Iraq keeps gaining ground. Today in the Financial Times, President Clinton's former national security adviser agreed with my long-standing assessment that leaving a large force of residual troops in Iraq will severely undermine our ability to use diplomacy to bring regional stability to the Middle East. Soon everyone will be with us.

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Governor Richardson is asking 13 million people what they think -- you included.

This week is the Governor's turn in the YouTube You Choose Spotlight, which gives him access to the 13 million visitors YouTube gets each month.

For his Spotlight, the Governor wanted to focus on his call for a new energy revolution and finally breaking our addiction to foreign oil. There is no candidate as committed to this issue as Bill Richardson, and to prove it, he is asking people across the country to share their stories about taking energy conservation to a whole new level and finding innovative ideas for alternative energy.

As a special twist, Governor Richardson will visit whichever person or community has the most compelling idea or the best story of going above and beyond in their efforts to fight global warming and break our oil addiction. Check out the video, and if you or someone you know has a brilliant new alternative energy idea they are working on, or if they are taking conservation to a new level, please make a submission. Who knows? The next big energy idea might be in your own backyard.

Click here to see Bill Richardson's YouTube spotlight video inviting you to send in your best ideas to help America chart a new energy future.

And this isn't your only chance to be front and center in the Governor's campaign to take the White House.

July 23, 2007 is the CNN/YouTube presidential debate and people across the country are being invited to submit video questions to the candidates.

This is your chance to really dig deep -- to ask the Governor or any of the other candidates anything you want. If you have a good question, and a video camera, submit it now at: http://www.youtube.com/debates. If you have technical questions, just give our internet team a call at 505-982-2291 and we'll walk you through the process.

We've got to have people like you involved if we're really going to change the direction of this country.

Sincerely,
Dave Contarino
Campaign Manager
Richardson for President

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When I first heard the news on Monday, I just couldn't believe it. Every time I think George W. Bush and his administration have gone as far as they could, they sink to a new low.



Forget the politics for a moment. Scooter Libby is a convicted felon who was implicated in a national security case and convicted of obstructing justice. Yet, he will not spend even one hour in jail and not because he was innocent or because he received an unfair trial. Rather, today Scooter Libby is a free man because the President believes he and his buddies are above the law.

George Bush allowing Libby to go free for his role in covering up the outing of a CIA operative shows contempt for the rule of law and a disregard for the security of the United States.

But it could get worse. We know that George W. Bush is considering a pardon. Join me and we can stop him.

Read it, add your own comments, and join me in telling George Bush this goes too far.

---

July 2007

Dear President Bush,

Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted on federal charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to investigators. It was a fair trial and a fair sentence.

You are simply wrong to commute his sentence and I am disturbed about the message you are sending to the American people and to the people of the world -- namely, that the rule of law is not absolute and that loopholes do exist for people with the right friends, or the right secrets to keep. That is not the American way and it once again demonstrates the breathtaking arrogance that unfortunately has come to characterize your Administration.

Will you also commute the sentences of others who obstructed justice and lied to grand juries? Will you commute the sentences of others convicted in cases that compromised our national security? Or will you only protect those who you know and who have acted to hide the actions of your administration from the American people?

I am beyond disappointed. I am incensed. And today I ask that you immediately declare you will not, under any circumstances, make this situation worse by pardoning Scooter Libby.

You may have arranged that he not serve a day (or even an hour) of his sentence, but if you want to preserve any of your credibility, you must not erase his crime completely.

I implore you -- the American people implore you -- do not pardon Scooter Libby.

Sincerely,

Governor Bill Richardson

Join me and co-sign my letter now.

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When the Governor spoke to the Take Back America conference on Tuesday and laid out how his position on Iraq differs from all the other Democratic candidates, one thing was perfectly clear: people are sick and tired of waiting for this war to end and they want our troops to come home. If you watch this video of the speech the roar of the crowd says it all.

Democrats across the country are frustrated. Congressional approval ratings are as low as they have been in decades. I know I feel that frustration, and I know you do, too.

Sometimes, even when you're speaking the truth, it can seem that no one is listening. Well, we hear you loud and clear -- and it is important that you know that you are not alone, and that together we're building a movement to end this war.

Today I want to share with you just a few of the comments from people who went to www.notroopsleftbehind.com and signed the petition calling for de-authorization before the summer break and for all the troops to come home now:

"This madness needs to end as soon as possible. Thank you Governor Richardson for taking such a clear and strong stand." -- Michel from Davison, MI

"I have a 17-year-old son who plans on joining the military when he graduates from high school next month. While I am proud that he wants to serve his country, I am scared to death of him joining while an extremely dangerous and foolhardy war is in progress. Bring our troops home!" -- Jill from Reno, NV

"How many more ways can we, the people of the U.S., say this to make it any clearer?? Bring our troops home, NOW!" -- Paula from Exeter, NH

"Bill Richardson is the only politician today willing to speak the truth and act on it. De-authorize the war, the people must be heard..." -- Mitchell from River Edge, NJ

"We ask our soldiers to show courage but Congress is not showing courage. It is time to de-authorize this war. Now is the time before we have any more deaths. This has been a false war since its beginning..." -- George from Mason City, IA

There are thousands of comments like these and we will continue to put up selections on our website. Something real is starting here -- and I want you to be there for each step.

Every time the Governor speaks and provides a real alternative to all the other candidates by calling for the war to end now and for all the troops to come home, the response is overwhelming. People are ready for a new perspective, and a real plan.

And we need your help to make sure the Governor can continue spreading his message. Next Saturday is the end-of-quarter fundraising deadline, and we need your help now to build the resources to reach those millions of Americans who are frustrated and ready for Bill's clear alternative plan for ending this war now.

You can support the campaign, and give us the resources we need to spread the word by contributing now.

Thank you for all that you do -- you really are making the difference.

Sincerely,

Dave Contarino
Campaign Manager
Richardson for President

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Bill Richardson stands apart from the other candidates in a number of ways: he is the only one calling for de-authorization to end the war before the summer break, he is calling for no residual troops in Iraq when the other candidates want to leave troops behind, and he is proposing a revolutionary energy plan that is bolder and goes farther than any other plan out there.

Then there are the ads. The Governor is willing to communicate to voters and supporters in a way no one else does: directly, unvarnished, and with a sense of humor. Tomorrow, the campaign is unveiling a new TV ad in New Hampshire and Iowa that continues that tradition: it is funny, direct, and I believe will really make a difference on the ground in those states.

Watch the new ad now and make a contribution to help us keep it on the air.

The first two Interview ads drew rave reviews and, more importantly, had a measurable impact in New Hampshire and Iowa. After we aired our ads, our polling numbers went up in both states. "Asked You" presents Governor Richardson's impressive environmental record in a memorable way that breaks through the clutter. I think this ad will be just as effective as the first two, but we need your help to keep it on the air.

Watch it now and make a contribution to help us keep it on the air.

Lately a number of newspaper articles have examined the Governor's ability to connect with everyday people on the campaign trail. The reporters often seem a little taken aback -- a little surprised to see a candidate travel with few staff, no real handlers, and communicating with people directly with none of the typical political affectations. The many ways in which Governor Richardson stands apart from the other candidates are the exact ways he is going to win. Just like him, this ad -- which is unlike any other candidate's ads -- stands apart.

Thank you for all of your support throughout the campaign. It has made all the difference.

Dave Contarino
Campaign Manager
Richardson for President

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