Richardson: Born negotiator; Growing up in 2 worlds, he learned to see issues from both side

[DeepModem Mom]

Chicago Tribune: THE CONTENDERS: BILL RICHARDSON
Richardson: Born negotiator
Growing up in 2 worlds, Richardson learned to see issues from both sides
By Ray Quintanilla, Tribune staff reporter
October 16, 2007
IOWA FALLS, Iowa

The seminal moment in Bill Richardson's life came shortly before he was born. His father, a headstrong American banker who worked and lived in Mexico City, told his pregnant wife in the fall of 1947 to pack for a brief trip across the U.S. border. So she gathered a few things and headed north to deliver her baby. In those days, border officials saw nothing unusual about a pregnant Mexican woman wanting to enter Southern California, so she crossed without incident and headed for Pasadena.

The boy arrived a few days later -- a native born U.S. citizen -- and without as much as a tour of the community, the two returned home. His life has been a straddle of those two worlds. Often it has required negotiation and nuance, but largely Richardson has proved remarkably adaptive and adoptive. He endured being derisively called "Pancho" by classmates at his elite U.S. prep school, but later in life has repeatedly found himself comfortable precisely because people don't always see him in one dimension. He has made an art form of being able to understand what his adversary wanted and using that to get what he wants. He has had side tours to negotiate with dictators, to free hostages, to get a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist out of jail in Darfur.

He is a gun-toting Westerner schooled in the northeast. He is the rare Red Sox fan who can also cheer for the Yankees.

So it is hardly surprising that he chose a career in politics, and employed a style that does not see compromise as a bad thing. In public life, he has had an unbroken string of successes, from Tufts University to Congress to a Cabinet post to the New Mexico Governor's Mansion.

And, more than anything, William Blaine Richardson is trying to persuade Americans that his resume and life experience make him the most qualified candidate to be the next president of the United States....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-1016richardsonoct16,1,7523254,full.story?ctrack=6&cset=true

[MH1]

1. Most qualified by far.

Popular governor. Understands diplomacy. Replaced DREs with optical scan paper ballots in NM.

No way will the Dems ever nominate him. Oh well.

[Think82]

10. "by far" ? actually...

Biden is the most qualified. Dodd also has a lot of experience.

[MH1]

11. Name Biden's diplomatic achievements. n/t

[MH1]

13. ??? anything?

[Think82]

15. Sorry, busy today:

Dude, foreign relations is not an issue you can get Biden on.

Here are just a couple diplomatic achievements. I'm sure there are much more.

Dayton Accords, bringng about peace in Bosnia.

More importantly, his FEDERALISM PLAN for Iraq, which is the ultimate solution, recently got 75 votes in the senate at a time when no Iraq bill that remotely refutes the president's policy has even come close to that. Richardson actually likes the plan, but obviously can't endorse it outright because he's running against Biden.

These are only two examples (one of which is particularly relevant)... I'm sure there are much more. Bidenis known to many to be the best mind on foreign relations in the senate, which is why he's the chairman of the committee.

for more reading take a look at this:

http://www.essentialestrogen.com/2007/10/fletcher_smith_a_human_face_be.html

[MH1]

17. What was his role at Dayton? Is that all you've got?

(I'm not concerned about anyone's stated plan for Iraq - I care about the principles and credentials they bring to resolving a situation that we actually can't foresee.)

Meanwhile, Richardson:

In 1995, he traveled to Baghdad with Peter Bourne and engaged in lengthy one-on-one negotiations with Saddam Hussein to secure the release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by the Iraqis after wandering over the Kuwaiti border. He became a member of the Democratic leadership, where he worked closely with Bill Clinton on several issues.

This was one of several times that Richardson went overseas during the Clinton years to negotiate the release of American prisoners. He was also successful in this task in Sudan and North Korea.

....

In 1997, Clinton appointed Richardson as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. As ambassador, he represented the United States in UN proceedings regarding the Palestinian National Authority and the State of Israel<12>, the completion of negotiations that strengthened the role and mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme regarding ecologically sustainable development<13>, as well as other duties of an ambassador to the UN. Richardson served there until 1998, when he was appointed U.S. Secretary of Energy, a post that he held for the remainder of the Clinton administration.

....

During the summer of 2003, he met with a delegation from North Korea at their request to discuss concerns over that country's use of nuclear energy. At the request of the White House, he also flew to North Korea in 2005, and met with another North Korean delegation in 2006. On December 7, 2006, Richardson was named as the "Special Envoy for Hemispheric Affairs" for the Secretary General of the Organization of American States with the mandate to "promote dialogue on issues of importance to the region, such as immigration and free trade"

....

In January 2007, at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, he brokered a 60-day cease fire between al-Bashir and leaders of several rebel factions in Darfur, the western Sudanese region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Richardson#U.S._Ambassador_to_the_United_Nations

[MH1]

12. While you're about it, tell me what your candidate has done for election integrity.

As Governor of New Mexico, Richardson got rid of DRE's and implemented paper ballots statewide.

[Think82]

14. Biden's first piece of legislation:

1972. Public financing of elections.

Diplomatic achievements: Dayton Accords, bringng about peace in Bosnia. More importantly, his FEDERALISM PLAN for Iraq, which is the ultimate solution, recently got 75 votes in the senate at a time when no Iraq bill that remotely refutes the president's policy has even come close to that. Richardson actually likes the plan, but obviously can't endorse it outright because he's running against Biden.

[MH1]

16. Links? How's that "public financing" working out anyway?

Are you referring to the checkoff box on the federal tax form? Or a piece of legislation that didn't get passed?

What was the bill number?

[riqster]

18. After enabling the 2004 Theft.

He fucked America big time by shutting down the recount of his state's rigged election.

People saw that and backed down along with him, which made it even harder to fight on a national level. Fuck Richardson. When it counted, he sold us out.

[MH1]

21. Why? The NM result would not affect the outcome.

As Governor, Richardson had a fiduciary responsibility.

I don't agree with his decision completely, and I certainly wanted Kerry to win as much as anyone did, but I can see why Richardson didn't spend millions of the state's dollars on a meaningless recount.

If he hadn't gone on to correct the problem in his state, then I might still have a big problem with it. But as it is, he has actually done more to CORRECT the problems than any of the candidates.

[riqster]

22. It shows a flagrant disregard for the rights of the citizens

Meaningless my ass. Every vote, by law, must be counted. Richardson actively worked to stop the voters of his state from exercising their franchise. He has never apologized or adequately explained his actions.
Richardson, like Bush, picks and chooses the laws he will uphold, and tramples on the others. How can we trust someone who acts in such a Bush-like manner?

Had Richardson obeyed the law, he would have been a major figure standing up for the rights of the voter, the importance of the rule of law, and transparency and honesty in government. Instead he acted in a manner that was antithetical to all three.He made a backroom deal to deny his constituents their rights under the law.

A specific aspect of the 'meaningless' meme that needs addressing is the idea that winning is the only thing that matters, and if a victory cannot be assured, it is a waste of time to fight. This calculus is poisonous; it places democracy below professional sports in terms of integrity. If an athlete cheats he or she is stripped of their winnings and subject to further sanctions. It is a sad time indeed, when we hold a sprinter to a higher standard than our highest elected officials. "Yeah, sure, Richardson broke the law and fucked over his own citizens, including a high percentage of Hispanics, but since it wouldn't make us win, who cares?" 'Scuse me whilst I puke. What's the difference between your stated attitude and that of Bush? Not much, if anything.

New Mexico was not sitting in a vacuum, it was part and parcel of a very contentious stolen election. A Governor standing up for due process would have energized the election integrity movement and put a major crimp in the activities of the Fraudistas. We tried to get him to do it, pleaded with him; but like Kerry, he put expedience above the law.


Once again: Richardson is not our friend. He will twist the laws to his own advantage. We know this about him because we have seen him do it. He didn't just fail to support the recount, he personally shut it down.

Thank god the two-faced, corrupt Quisling hasn't got a chance of winning the nod. I'd vomit on the ballot if I had to pick him.

[MH1]

2. "From a civil liberties perspective, Bill Richardson should be the next President of the U.S."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3611953&mesg_id=3611953

Bill Richardson From the perspective of civil liberties, Richardson is the strongest 2008 presidential candidate. No other candidate in either party can boast his commitment to international human rights law, his respect for the Second Amendment, and his strong record on lesbian and gay rights. If he supported abolition of the death penalty and were a little more skeptical about campaign finance reform proposals, he would be a perfect civil liberties candidate. As is, he's merely the best... http://civilliberty.about.com/od/profiles/p/bill_richar...
After careful analysis of the platforms of all 18 major-party presidential candidates, I have come to an inescapable conclusion: From a civil liberties perspective, Bill Richardson should be the next President of the United States. No other candidate in the running, Democratic or Republican, comes close. http://civilliberty.about.com/b/a/257662.htm

It's amazing what DUers (and many others) ignore.

[seasat]

3. His positions are also similar to Dean's 2004 campaign

I noticed several weeks ago that some of the more moderate positions of Richardson has are similar to Howard Dean's positions in '04. Both were favored by the NRA. Both had strong records and positions on balancing the budget. Both have strong antiwar messages. Both are considered moderates on some issues but very liberal on others. Like Dean, Richardson has always been very liberal on civil rights issues. He's also got a very strong record on environmental issues.

IMHO, the stepped up primary system and the media narrative that they impose on candidates has hurt Richardson's campaign. He's battling against others that have more initial national recognition so he's never got the media coverage of the top three. His early missteps in the first debate and the MTP interview branded him as a gaffe prone candidate. Anytime after that his message was less than perfect he was immediately lambasted. The unfair part of this is that the media ignores small missteps by other candidates but mention Richardson's.

Even when he makes a perfectly innocent statement some folks use the media narrative about him for political purposes. He recently made a very sound statement about establishing a national water policy. This was immediately distorted to Richardson wants to drain the Great Lakes for water for Las Vegas. One of the people that pushed this narrative is Granholm, the Michigan governor, who is expected to endorse Hillary. Richardson never even implied such a thing but took a hit from some of the media on it forcing him to issue a statement reiterating his position.

He's made huge progress in his debating and interview skills but has not had an absolute perfect blow-the-crowd away performance. It would take a JFK like performance to propel him up rapidly within the group and dispel the current narrative. That is hard to do especially since he's up against Senators that have spent their entire careers debating on the senate floor. The top three were also successful lawyers and they received quite a bit of training in courtroom style presentation aiding them in their debate performances.

The main way that I can see Richardson gaining is for Clinton to stumble badly and/or for there to be a severe downturn in Iraq. Right now the media is playing that the situation in Iraq has improved. Some of that is true and some it is the message of the Repugs touting every small success. If things turned worse more folks would turn to Richardson plan for immediate withdrawal. Now, I'm not wishing for Iraq to turn much worse and hope it doesn't but that is one of the factors that could propel Richardson up in the polls. With the perception of improvement, the general public isn't as worried about staying in Iraq past 2013.

The good news about his possibilities is that he maintains one of the lowest unfavorable ratings of any of the candidates. He's also one of the best retail politicians in the race and can win over individuals in the small states. His long shot chance is that he needs to finish ahead of Clinton in Iowa and win in Nevada.

[bklyncowgirl]

4. I like Richardson a great deal. If Gore doesn't get in I'll vote for him.

There is a certain similarity to Dean and also in some ways to Al Gore.

Frankly, I'll take someone who's run a state and run it well over a candidate who has only legislative experience.

Hopefully he'll keep improving his debating skills. It's rather bizarre that the ability to speak in sound bites is more important in American politics than experience or even ideas but that is the way it is.

He strikes me as something of a mensch, a bit more genuine than some of the other candidates with a good sense of humor.

He's going to need it.

[Think82]

9. If interested in Richardson, also take a look at :

this:

http://www.essentialestrogen.com/2007/10/fletcher_smith_a_human_face_be.html

[MH1]

5. Thanks for the analysis.

I tend to agree with most of it.

I just find it frustrating that so many folks at sites like DU seem willing to fall in line with the media narrative. If folks were investigating for themselves, I'd think we'd at least see more discussion of Richardson's positions.

[Rhythm and Blue]

8. Nice analysis. It's too bad he's where he is in the polls. nt

[Deep13]

6. (Insert generic "corporatist" accusation.)

(Insert statement about leaving the party if Richardson is nominated.)
:eyes:

[MH1]

7. Actually, it seems like blindfolds are the order of the day. n/t

[rusty fender]

19. Gun toting?

He only started posing with guns and dead animals when he started running for President and that was when he was elected gov. of NM. Sure he'd make a better President than Bush, but then so would my dog.

[benEzra]

20. Has nothing to do with dead animals...

he has a handgun carry permit, which is probably what is being referenced here.

Only 1 in 5 U.S. gun owners is a hunter, contrary to popular misconception; most of us are nonhunters, which is why the talk-up-hunting, ban-nonhunting-guns strategy '94-'04 bombed so badly.