ABQ / Santa Fe News

Politics

Richardson Leads No Secret Lives

By Emily Esterson , 8-10-05

Those of us journalists who have had the inside track on New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson know the man has both the ability to charm and to infuriate. Ive had many a Republican whisper in my ear about Richardsons habit of blackballing those who oppose him, his obvious pandering to the media, and so forth. And why not? The man obviously has his eyes on bigger and better things.

New West Network Boise Editor Shea Andersen had an up close and personal view of King Bill (Richardson, that is) on Salon.com yesterday. King Bill earned his moniker, Andersen writes, because of his penchant for fast cars, deluxe airplanes, and celebrity wrangling. Andersen should know. He covered Richardson for three years when he was a reporter at the Albuquerque Tribune. Andersen does a masterful job of describing the touchy feely Bill, the speeding-down-the-freeway Bill, and the not so delightful mad Bill, in his piece In his time with Richardson, Andersen himself spent many hours speeding down freeways and being the recipient of a subtly flipped bird or two. When he left New Mexico, Richardson gave him a goodbye party at the Governor's Mansion. I believe Andersen once told me Richardson offered him a job, too (not surprising, since half his staff are former journos).

It's been no secret here in New Mexico that, nearly since day 1, Richardsons had his eye on the Big House. We all said it all along: He'll aggressively fix New Mexico (even if it is just surface fixing) and then take those successes on the road. What better campaign slogan fodder than to say you elevated the economy of the 47th poorest state in the Union?

And so Andersen's portrait brings us a nice, detailed view of the real Bill, ticks and all.But I have to add a few things. For one, he's only a marginal speech maker. The Clinton comparisons have to end here--even when Bill Clinton went off script, he handled it flawlessly. I don't know the ins and outs of Richardson's speech writing staff, but he jumps around and flails and occasionally goes off script altogether, and he does so without Clintonian eloquence. And, while Andersen points out that he often begins speeches with jokes, sometimes he carries it a bit far. He will publicly tease someone so relentlessly that it becomes embarrassing. I once watched Richardson pick on Public Service Company of New Mexico CEO Jeff Sterba so intensely that the room became a chorus of squeaky chairs as the audience squirmed, literally.

Still, Richardson has that ability to charm, to cajole, and to spot a media opportunity from a mile a way. Just stay out of the way of that Lincoln Navigator.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.