Forget Obama. Bill Richardson’s comments to the New York Times today make clear he will be Hillary Clinton’s worst nightmare in 2007 and 8.

On using Purell, he said:

“It’s condescending to the voters,” said Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat. A fervent nonuser of hand sanitizer, Mr. Richardson holds the Guinness Book of World Records mark for shaking the most hands over an eight-hour period (13,392, at the New Mexico State Fair in 2002). Indeed, what message does it send when politicians, the putative leaders in a government by the people, for the people, feel compelled to wipe off the residues of said people immediately after meeting them? “The great part about politics is that you’re touching humanity,” Mr. Richardson said. “You’re going to collect bacteria just by existing.” …. Mr. Richardson said that if he ran for president, as he is considering, he had no intention of conforming to the norms of his antiseptic peers. “I just won’t use the sanitizer,” he said. “I’ve been offered it, but I’ve turned it down.” This positions Mr. Richardson as the early hygienic maverick of 2008. “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty,” he said.