Posted by Frank James at 12:45 pm CDT

Gov. Bill Richardson has arguably the best resume among the Democratic presidential candidates-member of Congress, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Energy Secretary and now governor of New Mexico.

But even with that gold-plated resume, he's had difficulty capturing anything near the kind of attention that senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois have enjoyed. He'd probably even be happy to have John Edwards presidential preference numbers.

So Richardson's campaign has a couple of new telvision ads meant to playfully introduce the governor's credentials to the American people in the hope that they will breakthrough all the clutter and register with Democratic voters.

This from a press release from the governor's campaign:

"We wanted to do something original in a Presidential campaign - and that was to use humor to communicate Governor Richardson's vast record of achievement in public service, foreign affairs and as Governor of New Mexico," said campaign manager Dave Contarino.

As the press release says, the ads will start running in Iowa starting tomorrow. Obviously, intoning his credentials in a very serious way hasn't done much to date to move the needle in terms of his popularity as a presidential candidate. So a little humor can't hurt.

"Richardson Airs "Job Interview" TV Ads Unique Ad Series Makes Light of Conventional Wisdom About Governor's Candidacy

For Immediate Release

May 9, 2007

SANTA FE, NM - Today, Governor Bill Richardson's Presidential campaign released the first two in a series of "Job Interview" TV ads that make light of the political establishment's view of the Governor's campaign for President.

"We wanted to do something original in a Presidential campaign - and that was to use humor to communicate Governor Richardson's vast record of achievement in public service, foreign affairs and as Governor of New Mexico," said campaign manager Dave Contarino.

The ads, which begin airing tomorrow in Iowa, feature the Governor in a generic job interview setting with a skeptical interviewer who remains unconvinced of the Governor's readiness to be President. "By highlighting Governor Richardson's sense of humor about his status in the race," said Contarino, "we're also giving voters a window into the Governor's personality and his willingness to poke a little fun at himself and the process of running for President."

Click here to view the ads, download a copy, and read the fact sheets.

The first commercial, entitled "Job Interview," summarizes Governor Richardson's long record in public office - from his 14 years in Congress to his service as U.N. Ambassador and Secretary of Energy to the many foreign dictators he's successfully negotiated with over the years. The second commercial, "Tell Me," continues the series by touching on a number of the Governor's achievements as Governor of New Mexico, including his record of helping create jobs, balancing budgets and investing in education.

"Governor Richardson is truly unique in this race, both in terms of his extensive record of accomplishment and his personality. He's not a typical candidate for President and these are not typical ads," said Contarino. "One of the secrets of Governor Richardson's success at governing, negotiation, and foreign affairs is his ability to connect with people. His years of diplomatic experience have taught Governor Richardson that sometimes the best way to reach out is to put others at ease with humor and self-deprecation. These are serious times, but sometimes those are the most important times to be able to prompt a smile and start anew."

The commercials will begin running Thursday, May 10th on broadcast affiliates and cable systems in Iowa, and were produced by Steve Murphy and Mark Putnam of Murphy Putnam Media in Alexandria, Virginia.

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