Calling all Iowans: Richardson wants you

Gov. Bill Richardson ends all his stump speeches with the story of a funeral:

After Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in 1945, the president’s casket was moved by train from Georgia to New York, where he would be buried. Hundreds of thousands of people came out to pay their respects, lining the tracks as the funeral procession moved north. A reporter traveling on the train decided to interview people at one of the stops.

Among the crowd of mourners, he saw one particularly distraught man.

“ ‘You must have known the president?’ the reporter asked. ‘No,’ said the man. ‘But the president knew me.’ ”

Richardson pauses for effect.

“That,” he says, “is the kind of president I would like to be.”

Personal approach

It seems, at times, as if Richardson wants to get to know every Iowan in the state.

He has traveled thousands of miles, visiting 87 of the state’s 99 counties. With shallow coffers and a long shot at the Democratic nomination for president, he is making a virtue of necessity.

He doesn’t have the money for a large staff or extensive advertising, so he has no choice but to keep going from town to town, coffee shop to coffee shop, reaching out to as many Iowans as possible.

“I’m glad that Iowa is making the decision, not the pundits in Washington,” the New Mexico governor told a crowd recently. “Iowans like underdogs . . . and I’m kind of counting on that.”

Richardson’s support, however, still has not reached double digits.

About 8% of likely Democratic caucus-goers say they will support him, according to the latest polls, placing him far behind the three main contenders here: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

But Richardson likes to point out that there are still many undecided Iowans, and if he finishes as one of the top three, that could be a big boost heading into Western and Southern contests, where he hopes to do well. “Long shots have won,” Richardson said after a weekend of campaigning in eastern Iowa. “There was a long shot named Bill Clinton. There was a long shot named John Kerry. There was a long shot named Jimmy Carter. There’s a long shot named Bill Richardson.”

Overqualified?

A television ad in Iowa depicts Richardson applying for the job of president.

An interviewer, sounding bored, checks off his resume, listing his accomplishments as a member of Congress, overseas negotiator and governor of New Mexico. The punch line: Richardson may actually be overqualified for the job.

With humorous ads and a long line of self-deprecating jokes, Richardson has portrayed himself as an average guy, outspent and outnumbered, and somewhat bemused by the Beltway breeding of other candidates.

“I don’t have the money, the glamour or the Secret Service -- all I got is my Iowa kids,” he said several times over the weekend, referring to his team of young staffers in the state.

Speaking about the environment during several campaign stops, he said: “Gore was right,” then cracked an aside: “I just hope he stays out of the race.” With his hands thrust deep in the front pockets of his blue blazer, he rocked back and forth on his heels as he chuckled.

Richardson’s ostensible modesty and personable style win over audiences skeptical of candidates with too much polish.

Rick Murphy, a 47-year-old financial advisor, said he would probably vote for Richardson should he get the Democratic nomination, even though Murphy usually votes Republican. Murphy said he has been unimpressed by the GOP candidates, and he liked Richardson’s message about diplomacy. Besides, Murphy said, “he’s one of the funniest guys I’ve heard.”

“A guy like Richardson does well in Iowa,” said Pat Lyons, 46, a small-business owner who listened to Richardson’s speech in Vinton. “Consensus building -- that’s important. We’re fiddling, and Rome is burning.”

Though he liked what he heard, Lyons had yet to make up his mind about whom to support. “I’m probably more anti-incumbency than anything. . . . We’ve already had 12 years of the Bush dynasty, and look what happened.”

‘Change and experience’

Richardson, the only governor in the Democratic race, takes frequent potshots at Congress. “Their approval rating is 11% -- worse than Cheney and HMOs,” goes one of his favorite jokes, a sure-fire hit with voters who don’t like any of the three.

Richardson is no stranger to Washington, having spent 14 years in Congress and two years as President Clinton’s energy secretary. He also served as the U.N. ambassador under Clinton.

His campaign motto suggests that voters can have it both ways: “Change and experience.”

Observers have suggested that Richardson himself may be having it both ways by running for president while privately eyeing the vice presidency or the U.S. Senate. He dismissed that speculation.

“It’s off the table,” he said of the seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.).

However, he could transfer money from the presidential race to a Senate run. The February filing deadline would allow him to jump in should he fall short in the first presidential contests.

An older crowd

Iowans who attended Richardson’s events complained he sometimes lacked Clinton’s specificity or the sparkle of Obama and Edwards.

“The position of the president -- in addition to being a manager -- is to be a visionary, to be able to articulate a grand vision,” said Robert Melhorn, a minister from Osage who heard Richardson speak at the Maple Inn.

“One reason I’m not sold on him as the next president is that he’s not quite as articulate as the others,” said Melhorn, who supports Obama but also likes Edwards.

“Soaring rhetoric gets you nowhere,” Richardson said, when asked about the criticism. “Practical accomplishments, managerial talent and the ability to build coalitions are what will make things happen.”

Richardson, 59, attracts an older crowd, people his staffers say are more likely to caucus on Jan. 3. He estimated that 15% to 20% of a given audience would pledge to support him after a stump speech. But, at many of the recent events, it didn’t seem like the “Iowa kids” were getting that many pledges.

Still, Richardson plowed ahead, shaking many hands, cracking many jokes and staying on schedule.

At the Vinton coffee shop, he ended his speech with the FDR story. Outside the Java Alley, several voters said they liked what they heard.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing him as the nominee, but he’s an acknowledged long shot,” said Joe Robinson, 61.

“Maybe if he talks to enough people . . . “ Robinson said, trailing off.

Richardson visited four other cities that day, driving more than 200 miles, often speaking to fewer than 40 people at a stop. After the last event, Richardson and his staff drove to a sports bar in Mason City to eat. But the governor kept working, seemingly unable to stop.

After he had shaken hands of the diners near the bar, he headed back to the Holiday Inn where he was spending the night.

He had to get up early. He still had miles and miles to go.

louise.roug@latimes.com