OKAY, HE'S DOING PRETTY WELL. Richardson is giving a broad speech here, linking labor issues with some other, very important ones. He has just promised to increase funding for public transportation with the goal of combating environmental degradation, preserving open space, and of course, creating jobs. Good stuff.

Richardson got a sustained standing ovation as he talked about his role in Darfur diplomacy. And he lauded great teachers -- union workers, of course -- in the context of his opposition to No Child Left Behind. I don't agree with Richardson's position on NCLB, but at least he's been clearer than the other candidates: "I will not tinker with it, I will not fix it, I will get rid of it! It has to go!"

And he even mentions LGBT rights. "When I'm elected president, there will not be discrimination based on sexual orientation." Richardson closes with a joke about naming one of the other "great candidates" in the primary his vice president.

--Dana Goldstein