Bill Richardson became the second former ‘08 Democratic candidate for president to pick a pony for the Democratic nomination, when he endorsed Barack Obama today. The news hit on the AP wire a little at 3am, Eastern this morning, that Richardson, the former New Mexico governor, would join Senator Obama make his announcement on the campaign trail in Portland, Oregon. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), endorsed Senator Obama last month in Ohio.

Obama explained the timing of the endorsement, which comes after a week’s worth of bad news for his campaign. He told reporters, “Last week, Governor Richardson agreed to endorse me, but we couldn’t get scheduled logistically because he had to go take a vacation with his wife, very wisely. So it took us till today to actually make the public announcement.”

Richardson, who served in President Bill Cinton’s administration, said that up until a week ago, he had been torn by two “very strong, good candidates.” Ultimately he made his decision  because he considers Obama to be “something special that the country needs right now,” citing Obama’s humanity, intellect, and judgment.

His decision was reinforced upon hearing Obama’s speech Tuesday, Richardson said. “He did not seek to evade tough issues or to soothe us with comforting half-truths. Rather, he inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility,” he said of Obama’s speech.

But with long-standing ties to the Clintons, he described his conversation with Senator Clinton last night to inform her of his decision as uncomfortable. “Let me say I’ve had better conversations,” Richardson said with a laugh. As he told the some 12,000 people in Portland, “The 1990s were a decade of peace and prosperity because of the competent and enlightened leadership of the Clinton administration, but it is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward.”

While Hillary Clinton has remained mum in response to the endorsement, Mark Penn, a Clinton senior advisor told reporters on a conference call, “Perhaps the time he could have been most effective is long since past.”

“You know, that’s unfortunate. I want to get away from that,” Richardson said, standing next to Senator Obama at a media avail, saying this comment implied he could only help rally the Hispanic vote in states like Texas. “I want to go where Senator Obama has, where he’s calling on all of us to come together, not to be stereotyped,” he said.
In a lighter moment during his speech introducing Senator Obama at the Portland rally, Richardson strayed from his prepared remarks to recount a story to demonstrate that Obama is a “really good guy.”

Lamenting that he was never called upon during the numerous Democratic debates, he recalled being surprised when asked a question by the moderator of an undisclosed debate. “Needless to say, I wasn’t listening and I turned to Senator Obama in horror about to say, ‘Would you repeat the question,’ and Senator Obama whispered, he said, ‘Katrina. Katrina.’ And so I then gave my answer on Katrina,” Richardson said with a grin. “He could have thrown me under the bus, he but he stood behind me.”

“Don’t tell anyone about that incident,” he joked.