Bill Richardson brings all the campaign talent to Team Obama that took him from the most-experienced candidate to an embarrassing also-ran. In this clip, Richardson works his magic on several topics. He keeps emphasizing that Barack Obama is “bringing people together”, a “fresh voice”, and “change” — but he can’t offer any specifics about any of those qualities. But when he talks about Obama’s foreign policy, Richardson really hits bottom:

“We’re going to need to see who is going to be the strongest candidate against Senator McCain. And I believe that is Senator Obama with his emphasis on change and bringing people together, a fresh voice internationally, somebody that is able, in my judgment..to bring…. at least I just got back from Latin America, from Venezuela, where he has enormous support, where people really want to see a change in American foreign policy and they see Obama as that agent of change.“

Yes, you read that correctly. Richardson went to Venezuela to work on gaining the release of American hostages taken by FARC, the Colombian terrorists who have received material support from Venezuelan wannabe dictator Hugo Chavez. When Richardson speaks about Venezuelans who want to see a change in American foreign policy, one has to remember that the only Venezuelans Richardson meets are Chavez and his regime’s diplomats. Richardson certainly isn’t meeting with Venezuelan dissidents while trying to wheedle Chavez into getting his terrorist supporters to release the three Americans.

In other words, Richardson just delivered the Hugo Chavez endorsement. Will Americans see Hugo’s blessing as a compelling reason to vote for Obama, or to vote for John McCain? And just how vapid can Richardson be to cheerfully deliver that bombshell on CNN?

Be sure to listen to Richardson’s answer on Jeremiah Wright. After asserting that Wright isn’t on the ballot, Richardson says that we should “shove him aside” and disregard him. He should offer that advice to Barack Obama, who still doesn’t appear smart enough to follow it.