Richardson in the Ring?

Does anyone else see this as perhaps an opening move in a putative Richardson run for President in 2008?

From MyDD:
Richardson Attacks McCain

by Matt Stoller, Sat Dec 16, 2006 at 01:01:21 PM EST
We can bitch all we want about St. John McCain, but it's going to take bigger guns than bloggers to point out just how insane he really is. Bill Richardson, a man who has serious foreign policy credentials, is at least willing to criticize John McCain.

"The leading advocate for escalating the war is Senator John McCain. I have served with John in Congress and I respect him. But John McCain is wrong, dead wrong to think that we can solve Iraq's political crisis through military escalation."

Chipping away at McCain's credibility is critical to beating him in 2008. I don't know exactly how to do that. From my conversations with various thoughtful insider-types, they don't really know either. Many of them are trying to figure out a way to distance themselves from the media fetishization of this guy. The torture bill really destroyed his reputation among the civil rights crowd, and a lot of insiders now feel betrayed by McCain who previously had no reason to go after him.

I think we're starting to see a willingness to criticize him on policy grounds, as Richardson does, though tone matters and a gradual escalation of rhetoric will be necessary to genuinely undercut his credibility. Still, this is encouraging.