Though his goals may sound expensive, Richardson said all could be funded with the money being spent on the war in Iraq. A recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service recently put the war's cost at nearly a half-trillion dollars.

"We're going to take money from that war and we're going to invest it in our own people," he said. "America is ready to come together to do what is best for this country."

Earlier Friday, several local Democrats endorsed Richardson's presidential bid at an afternoon news conference. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, state Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, and Hispanic leader David Ibarra all noted that Richardson's broad-based career makes him qualified to lead the nation — something Richardson himself touched on in his evening speech.

"We cannot afford another president with a need for on-the-job training," he said to the laughter and applause of the crowd.

During his 25 years in public service, Richardson has been a member of the U.S. House, a U.N. ambassador and a U.S. Secretary of Energy, and he is now a Western governor.

Richardson is the second Democratic presidential candidate to visit Utah, though two more hopefuls are expected soon.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is today's featured speaker at the Utah Democratic Party's state convention. A fund-raiser for Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is scheduled for Aug. 1 in either Salt Lake City or Park City, according to the Utah Democratic Party.

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina also made a brief fund-raising stop here in early June, collecting some $100,000 during his three hours in the Beehive State.

The three top-tier Republican presidential candidates — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — have also been to Utah this year to raise money.

Despite consistently falling behind high-profile Democratic candidates, Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in the polls, Richardson was confident Friday that he could earn his party's nomination.

"I promise you my best effort," he said. "I promise you that I will outwork everybody."

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com