'Senator Obama reminded us that cynicism is not realism, and that hope is not folly', declared Bill Richardson during a brilliant and rousing speech yesterday, in which he endorsed Barack for president. Governor Richardson, who gave up his own bid for the presidency only a couple of months ago, joined Senator Obama at a rally in Portland, OR, to officially give his support.

The first time I heard Richardson speak was at last year's TBA conference, where he was invited as one of the presidential candidates. I was quite impressed with his stance on the issues and his specific solutions, but was not particularly moved at the time. It might have been because it was a dry policy speech. But it is also possible that, having been freed from the yoke of being a presidential contender, Richardson yesterday was finally able to let passion and emotion be a part of his words.

All I can say is - it definitely worked! This had to have been the best speech the man has ever given. Of course the fact that Bill seems to genuinely like Barack doesn't hurt, either. Pay attention to the story he tells about how Obama saved his hide during one of the debates, and you can see that he has not forgotten and that that particular moment did a lot to ferment Richardson's very favorable opinion of Obama's character and integrity:

One thing that struck me, and apparently the pundits agree: While Bill Richardson was being nothing but kind and polite about Senator Clinton, he called for a uniting of the Democrats and an end to the infighting. In light of what can only be a minimal chance at the nomination for Clinton, this could well have been seen as a call for a speedy withdrawal from the race. It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, will follow his lead in the coming days and weeks and how this will impact Clinton's dogged persistence in staying until the bitter end.

Governor Richardson, in a subsequent interview with CNN, remarked on the difficult conversation he had with Senator Clinton on Thursday night. "It was painful and it wasn't easy," he said. "I've spoken to others who have had that same conversation and they say at the end, it’s not all that pleasant."

Thank you, Bill, for doing what is right, not what is easy.