Experienced but unheard, 'second tier' candidates focus on substance
WASHINGTON -- Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico seemed momentarily perplexed when members of a construction union leaped out of their chairs.
"Hey, thanks for standing up," Richardson said, when he realized the Building Trades Union members were giving him a standing ovation. "I thought maybe you were leaving."
In previous campaigns, political veterans who have served many years as senator, governor, ambassador, and congressman would be considered serious contenders for the presidency. But this year, experienced candidates are finding it difficult to break through the media congestion surrounding the so-called top tier candidates.
"You always get a number of experienced officeholders and politicians who think it's now or never for the White House," said Merle Black , a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. "But no one ever gives them a chance, because they are competing against people who are much better known and can raise a lot more money."
It's not for lack of substance. Richardson and fellow Democratic Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio have each laid out healthcare plans -- something Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have yet to produce.
Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, has unveiled a Social Security reform package. And Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Democrat, has made several major detailed foreign policy addresses.
Some groups, such as the Center for National Policy, are determined to give a platform to all candidates. "People hopefully want a little less of 'American Idol' and a little more of the Lincoln-Douglas debates," said Tim Roemer , the group's president.
The second-tier candidates don't avoid the challenge. Richardson said in a recent interview: "There's a resentment building there, especially in the early primary states like New Hampshire, that this race is over or that it's a two- to three-person race. But this race isn't over."
Lou D'Alessandro , an influential Democratic state senator in New Hampshire, agreed. "Anything can happen when you have a field as big as this, with a timetable as long as this, and with the stakes so high," he said.
SUSAN MILLIGAN 
