Presidential candidate Bill Richardson appealed to Granite Staters' independent spirit on Saturday, asking them to choose the most qualified candidate instead of the most popular one.

Richardson made two stops in the Lakes Region Saturday, greeting voters at the Tilt'n Diner in Tilton before heading over to Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant in Meredith for a town hall-style meeting.

"I know I'm an underdog, but I also know New Hampshire likes the underdog," Richardson said to the audience of a crowded function room.

Mike Colclough / For The Citizen New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a democratic presidential candidate, meets with local residents after a town-hall style meeting at Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant in Meredith on Saturday.

Richardson said his wife, Barbara, was sorry she was unable to travel with her husband this weekend, especially when she found out his itinerary included a stop at Hart's, where she and her family used to come for Thanksgiving Dinner nearly every year.

The two-term governor said he hopes New Hampshire voters do not choose a presidential candidate based on who has the best "political pedigree" or the most money or the most charisma; rather, voters should choose based on a candidate's experience, he said.

More than 100 people filled a room at Hart's, where Richardson, the current governor of New Mexico, talked about education and employment before taking questions from the audience.

In talking about employment, Richardson said increasing the country's environmental initiatives will create new jobs that cannot be outsourced. Investing in the research, creation and maintenance of alternative energy systems as well increasing the amount of public transportation across the country will create thousands of jobs, he said.

Richardson said further improving the country's public education system is crucial to producing a better-prepared workforce that can work for higher wages. Working on increasing American students' proficiency in math and science will be top goal for his presidency if he's elected, Richardson said.

"I want to be known as the real education president, the one who will make the U.S. number one in math and science," Richardson said, noting that right now, the U.S. only ranks 29th in the world.

To achieve that goal, Richardson said the country needs 100,000 more teachers who specialize in those subjects as well as more dedicated academies and programs for students to choose.

Schools need to update and revise their curriculums, Richardson said, not only placing a stronger emphasis on math and science, but also on history, languages, literature and arts. He would also do away with "No Child Left Behind" mandates for schools, institute all-day kindergarten and raise the average pay of teachers.

With the country currently facing a $9 trillion debt with $4 billion interest payments on that debt, Richardson said the budget must be balanced.

He said he believes the budget can be balanced within seven years barring a long-term economic depression or another major war.

He said part of his plan to balance the national budget would be to take back more than $73 billion in corporate tax cuts and loopholes, as well as end what he described as the tax break the Bush Administration gave to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.

He said he would also end tax incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas.

Richardson, 60, was born in Pasadena, Calif. and grew up in Mexico City, where his father was a banker for many years.

Richardson attended high school in Massachusetts, where he met his future wife, Barbara Flavin. They were married in 1972, after both completed college — Richardson at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and Barbara at Colby-Sawyer College in New London.

After working in Washington for a few years, then moving to New Mexico, Richardson was elected to Congress in 1982, where he served 14 years and was an active member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Interior Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

Richardson has also been a United National Ambassador and he was elected governor of New Mexico in 2002 and again in 2004.

In introducing Richardson, Dorothy Derapelian of Meredith said she has been a longtime admirer.

"He speaks from experience," Derapelian said. "He has dedicated his life to serving his community and he has dedicated his life to serving his country."

She said as governor of New Mexico, he has cut taxes, increased the state's use of renewable energy and invested in education programs.

Derapelian spoke highly of Richardson's diplomatic experience, which includes working in negotiations for the release of U.S. prisoners in North Korea and Iraq.

"Bill Richardson as created a reputation as a global troubleshooter," Derapelian said, adding that he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times.

Others who came were meeting the candidate for the first time, like Karin Salone, who said she wanted to see what Richardson was like in person.

"I haven't made up my mind, but I'm leaning toward Richardson," Salone, a nurse from Laconia, said, adding that his "real life experience" as congressman, diplomat and governor makes him a top candidate for the presidency.