Richardson not giving up...

Email received from his campaign yesterday:

Dear Lisa Renee,

I just spent the last two and a half hours in our Friday strategy session and I wanted to let you know where things stand before I head out to meet up with the Governor at his 10th campaign event today.

It's come down to this. We have 54 days until the Iowa caucus and every one of us has a clear job to do. You do, too. I'm going to tell you about that in a minute.

First off, let me say this. The Democratic presidential primary is still very much in play. And Bill Richardson is still very much in it.

I was just looking at some poll numbers for Iowa and New Hampshire that show Bill gaining ground and that prove we will be competitive on Election Day.

All bets are off until those early states vote. That's really the first time voters get a chance to decide if they think a candidate can go all the way. And it's when front-runners stumble.

That's how Paul Tsongas lost his front-runner status in 1992. It got down to brass tacks and voters realized he couldn't beat George Bush. And suddenly Bill Clinton was catapulted to the front of the line and ultimately into the White House.

But here's what you need to know. Even though Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have bigger war chests, it won't make a difference when voters finally get to decide. There is only so much media to be bought in Iowa and New Hampshire. Which is why we're concentrating our energy there. And that's why I need your help now.

We have put $1.2 million in the plan for media in those two states for the month of November. But today, we only have $950,000.

If we can raise that additional $250,000 between now and Thanksgiving, we can match Clinton and Obama ad-for-ad.