Last update - 00:00 25/04/2007
New Mexico Gov. Richardson: If elected President, I may tap James Baker as Mideast envoy
By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, one of the Democratic candidates for president, said Wednesday that he would consider appointing former secretary of state James Baker to be special envoy to the Middle East peace process if elected president.
Richardson's statement came in response to a question from reporters after addressing the National Jewish Democratic Council in Washington.
The governor was one of seven presidential candidates to address the group in the past three days, following former senator John Edwards and Senators Christopher Dodd, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
Richardson added that more diplomacy is needed in the Middle East, and that the past six years of the presidency of George W. Bush have made Israel less secure than it was in the years of Bill Clinton's administration.
Richardson was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, and was present at several UN proceedings on the Middle East peace process.
More about the Democratic presidential hopefuls and Jewish Democrats in Rosner's Domain.