Responding to a question Saturday at a living-room gathering in snowy Des Moines, the first-tier-wannabe candidate touted his state’s expertise with nontraditional methods of healing.

"In my state, New Mexico, we’ve got more holistic healing than you do. I appreciate that kind of medical care. I appreciate dietary supplements. I appreciate oriental medicine. I think we have to open up health care delivery and access. You know how the doctors are. They want to keep it to themselves," he said. Under a Richardson administration, government health programs would pay for alternative therapies, he said.

So, to hear the governor tell it, part of the problem with healthcare in the United States is that we rely too much on doctors? Richardson believes we have the resources to invest in reality-based healthcare and an alternate system of “spiritual” medicine that isn’t peer reviewed, isn’t subjected to scientific testing, and isn’t backed up by evidence?

I can appreciate the fact that Richardson wants to help differentiate himself from the top-tier candidates, all of whom emphasize their own universal healthcare plans.

But this really isn’t the way to do it.