I like this guy so far……
“I’m not going to have the same amounts of resources as Sen. (Hillary Rodham) Clinton and Sen. (Barack) Obama,” he said of the leading Democratic candidates. “I’m a grass-roots candidate. My fundraising will be respectable. … I’m running to get the support of the voters, not the funders. This shouldn’t be a race about money or resources or rock star status.”

From Freenewsmexican.com

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday that U.S. foreign policy’s concentration on the Middle East cost the country progress on other important issues and that Latin America has been virtually ignored.

“My point is that Latin America is a very important part of the world,” Richardson said, adding that he would meet with leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as part of a broader Latin American policy plan.

Calling President Bush’s recent trip to the region “a little late,” Richardson, who is Hispanic, said the U.S. needs to be “associated with policies of democratic populism in Latin America.”

“We’re not,” he said. “We have to pay more attention to Latin America by being there.”

The Democratic presidential candidate also told reporters he would meet with Iran and Syria.

“If you’re going to have peace in the Middle East, if you’re going to bring some kind of resolve, result to the Iraqi crisis, you’ve got to think regionally,” Richardson said. “You should meet with Iran and Syria. You don’t make peace with your friends. You make peace with your enemies.”

Richardson said he wanted to create a “new alliance for progress for Latin America,” including economic assistance, loans to help the energy entrepreneurs as well as education, health care and nutrition.

“I would shift the focus of our assistance to Latin America, which I think is most important because it’s our hemisphere,” said Richardson.

Richardson acknowledged he may lag in fundraising ability.

“I’m not going to have the same amounts of resources as Sen. (Hillary Rodham) Clinton and Sen. (Barack) Obama,” he said of the leading Democratic candidates. “I’m a grass-roots candidate. My fundraising will be respectable. … I’m running to get the support of the voters, not the funders. This shouldn’t be a race about money or resources or rock star status.”

Richardson was in Austin to receive accolades from the Republican-controlled Legislature, and said he hoped his support in the state House and Senate would translate to votes in the 2008 presidential primary in Texas.

“I had two unanimous resolutions endorsed by the Texas House and Senate, and I hope that’s the same for the vote in the Texas primary for president,” Richardson said.

He said he hopes Texas moves its primary up to Feb. 5, 2008. The Legislature is considering such a measure.

“It’s, I believe, good for Texas, because issues important to Texas _ agriculture, water, immigration, issues related to transportation _ would be front and center. In the past, Texas has been a flyover for presidential candidates in both parties, a place where you raise money,” he said. “So I hope this happens.”

Richardson was due to attend a fund raiser in San Antonio Monday evening, his campaign said.