MANCHESTER - Wondering if Bill Richardson is running for president? It depends on which language you speak.

"I want to be very clear about this presidential stuff," Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, said at yesterday's New Hampshire Latino Summit. "No, I will not run for president."

Then, switching to Spanish, he told the heavily Hispanic crowd, "Segura que si, voy a ser candidato!"

Rough translation: You bet I am!

It was a light-hearted response to a question that is bound to follow Richardson for the next few years. But the bilingual answer also underscored a point Richardson made several times yesterday, as he met with members of New Hampshire's Hispanic community and other state business and political leaders.

The Democratic Party must renew its commitment to Hispanic voters, Richardson said, as America's political and cultural landscape shifts in the coming decades. He said Democrats should focus on states like Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, where Hispanic voters are growing in number and influence.

"The Democratic Party cannot be a party that's Washington-based," Richardson said. "We have to talk to every American, not just in the Northeast and on the West Coast."

As America's only Hispanic governor, Richardson was the biggest hit at yesterday's Latino Summit, which encourages business development among the state's Hispanic population.

"He brings credibility and he brings recognition," said Gustavo Moral, the conference's organizer, "that the Latino community in New Hampshire is growing."

He also brought a sizable contingent of reporters and television cameras, and much speculation about his political future. Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University, which hosted the summit, told Richardson his name "would look good on lawn signs all around New Hampshire in a few years."

As a potential candidate, Richardson brings a lengthy resume: former U.S. congressman, ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. Energy Secretary. He's also a throwback to an earlier political style, a back-slapping, wise-cracking politician who winks when he tells a joke and holds the world's record for most hands shook in a day: 13,834 (The previous holder was Teddy Roosevelt.)

Richardson is also chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, which picked up the tab for his two-day trip to New Hampshire. It's Richardson's job to make sure Democrats pick up governors'seats in next year's elections and he met with one of those candidates yesterday: Gov. John Lynch.

Richardson was also the guest of honor at a fundraiser for the state Democratic Party last night. He'll make stops at a handful of radio talk shows today and another Democratic Party dinner in Bartlett tonight.

He offered a few tips to Diana Trujillo, a sophomore at Southern New Hampshire University, at yesterday's Latino Summit. When he learned that Trujillo was studying business and political science, Richardson shared the secret to success in both fields.

"What you do is, you network with everyone," Richardson told Trujillo, switching back and forth between English and Spanish. "You get the list of everyone in your class, and you network. It's very important."

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