MANCHESTER — During long stretches in the final Democratic debate before the New Hampshire primary, Gov. Bill Richardson on Saturday sometimes seemed more like an observer than a participant.

Although Richardson held his own when he had the floor at the debate at St. Anselm College, he had a hard time getting a word in edgewise as the three front-runners — Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards — directed barbs at and responded to each other.

At one point, moderator Charlie Gibson of ABC News tried to ask Richardson a question, only to be drowned out by Clinton, who insisted on responding to something Edwards had said.

Richardson made no crippling gaffe during the debate — although at one point he apparently misspoke when he advocated negotiating with "the Soviet Union," which hasn't existed since the early 1990s.

However, there were no obvious home runs.

Frequently during this debate, as he has done at several previous debates, Richardson slipped into a familiar recitation of his résumé: "I'm the only one here who's balanced a state economy, the only one here who has balanced budgets and created jobs."

Earlier on Saturday, Dick Bouley, who co-chairs Richardson's New Hampshire campaign, said the ABC debate was "critical" for Richardson's chances for a good showing in Tuesday's primary.

Perhaps Richardson's best moment was, when finally allowed to speak after a heated exchange among the others, he quipped, "Well, I've been in hostage negotiations a lot more civil." The line not only eased the tensions of the moment, it was a reminder of Richardson's role as an international troubleshooter.

Later in the debate, following another argument among Obama, Clinton and Edwards about standing up to lobbyists and corporate interests, Richardson said, "This is the type of Washington bickering that people turn off to."

Challenging Edwards, who has made confronting special interests a major theme of his campaign, Richardson said, "John, I understand your frustration, but to solve problems, you've got to bring people together. ... You can't just fight and take people on all the time."

Richardson was candid in his response to Gibson's final question: What have you said in a previous debate that you wished you hadn't said?

Obama and Clinton completely dodged the question, and Edwards said his regrettable moment was making fun of Clinton's salmon-colored jacket, which had fallen flat in an earlier debate.

But Richardson recalled a blunder that earned him criticism — naming Byron "Whizzer" White as his model Supreme Court justice.

He said he named White because the justice was nominated by John F. Kennedy, whom the governor said was his idol.

"Then I found out that Whizzer White was against Roe vs. Wade," he said referring to the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. "And he was against civil rights.

"That wasn't a good one," Richardson deadpanned. This won him laughter and applause.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.