First impression
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico came by the Monitor today. He’s running for the Democratic presidential nomination. As the race develops, I’m sure he’ll polish his answers and have a five-point plan for Social Security, the federal debt and every other issue.
But here’s an early take: The guy is a hoot. He’s human, funny and personable. He seems to say what he thinks. He has a Western expansiveness that is refreshing to behold. When he hasn’t crafted a position on an issue, he isn’t afraid to say so. Nor is he afraid to pause and think before he speaks. He knows how to laugh at himself. He praises President Bush when he thinks praise is warranted.
Part II of this first impression is that Richardson comes with credentials. He’s a second-term governor. He served 15 years in Congress but does not talk about issues in the deadening dialect of the Capitol. He’s been energy secretary, giving him both Cabinet experience and knowledge of a vital national issue. He's been U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and traveled widely.
Richardson has his work cut out for him in a field that includes bigger names with bigger bankrolls. Money and organization will be challenges.
But if he plays New Hampshire like the breakthrough state he claims it is, voters here will give him a chance. And if he sticks to straight talk and his sometimes unconventional views, many will like what they hear.
Everyone who knows Governor Richardson seems to like him. Adore him, is more like it. They point out that he has real credentials and compassion. And, a wicked, edgy sense of humor too. He reminds many of another Southwesterner, Arizona's Morris Udall, a former Presidential candidate who looked like the gangly, straight-talking tall-in-the-saddle cowboy he was. Udall was so blessed with good humor that some journalists wrote "you're just too funny to be President." It was Udall who pointed that the significant difference between a cactus and Congress was that a cactus was rather better at keeping pricks on the outside. I get the impression that Richardson inherited the Udall brains, sensitivity and humor. Lord knows we need a leader with all three. In fact, a President given to self-deprecation might be a refreshing change indeed.
RB Scott
Dover, Mass.