http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071020/NEWS/710200330/-1/BUSINESS04The governor of New Mexico works to overcome some snafus he made during his campaign's early days.
By JENNIFER JACOBS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
October 20, 2007
Greenfield, Ia. - Lee Ann Nelson got teary-eyed after listening to Bill Richardson speak Friday.
The reaction seemed out of place, given the low-key nature of the campaign event.
It was in a little conference room in Greenfield City Hall, with no patriotic banners, no pumping music, no celebrity guest stars. There wasn't even a podium.
An audience of 43 mostly older Iowans, mostly wearing jeans, talked among themselves until a tall, sturdy Hispanic man strolled quietly to the front of the room. He was wearing a navy sport coat with just one button fastened, so that the bottom of his tie was peeking out.
After an hour and 20 minutes of listening to Richardson spice up serious policy talk with self-deprecating jokes, the room applauded long and hard when an emotional Nelson, 53, of Greenfield, stood and said: "It is very refreshing to see a candidate that is honest."
Nelson knows Richardson has made some eyebrow-raising public snafus as he struggles to attract Democratic voters. He addressed an SEIU union convention by saying "Thank you, AFSCME." He was questioned about an off-the-cuff remark that invoked God in the timing of the caucuses, saying Iowa "for reasons related to the Lord should be the first." He was mocked for being photographed reaching for the rear end of the Drake University bulldog mascot.
FULL story at link.
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