Bill Richardson - what's going on?

Masson'sw Blog has a post on Bill Richardson inserting his foot into his mouth. See WTF?. I had had hopes for Richardson but he seems to be having trouble. In the debates I have seen, he has not flat-footed at best.

Then yesterday The Washington Post publishes an op/ed piece by Richardson Iraq, Why We Should Exit Iraq Now. The following contains his main point:

Our troops have done everything they were asked to do with courage and professionalism, but they cannot win someone else's civil war. So long as American troops are in Iraq, reconciliation among Iraqi factions is postponed. Leaving forces there enables the Iraqis to delay taking the necessary steps to end the violence. And it prevents us from using diplomacy to bring in other nations to help stabilize and rebuild the country.

Right now I suspect his best hope (and maybe his plans) lie in getting an offer for Vice Presidential candidate. Not that criticizing the front-runners will do much to endear him to them.