Off the Record with Bill Richardson

Governor Richardson speaks to the Fletcher communityby Kim Barry

His recent exit from the presidential race evidenced by an Al Gore-esque beard and his trademark jovial smile, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (F '71) stood before an admiring yet skeptical Fletcher crowd on April 1. Hosted at the palatial residence of the Belgian Ambassador to the US Dominique Struye de Swielande, Richardson’s informal speech focused on straight talk, Obama, and his own destiny.

Richardson’s overarching theme was the importance of direct diplomacy, particularly between the US and its non-allies. "Our current policy is, 'if we disagree with you we’re not going to talk to you,'" Richardson said, insisting this has seriously injured US alliances abroad. He remembered that upon hearing President Bush state the US wouldn’t engage with entities that did bad things, he had joked, "pretty soon, we’ll only be talking to the Vatican." Richardson then stressed that the next administration must "stop looking for points of disagreement in the world and start looking for points of agreement."

Many of Richardson’s career highlights involve engaging so-called "bad guys." He successfully negotiated hostage situations in hostile territories such as North Korea, Iraq and Cuba, and helped broker a number of international treaties, particularly during a stint as US Ambassador to the United Nations. He once attributed his success as an emissary to setting small goals and clear objectives before each meeting and extensively researching the people on the other side of the table. However, Richardson cautioned in his Fletcher speech that the US must remember it can "only influence, not control, what goes on in other countries."

Richardson certainly influenced his admission to Fletcher. Having "majored in baseball" at Tufts, he was placed on Fletcher’s waiting list after graduation. He recalled using direct diplomacy almost daily with the Fletcher Dean until just before matriculation when "someone died in Indonesia" and he was admitted. Richardson illustrated the importance of this personal touch in politics with anecdotes about Ronald Reagan’s warm personality and George Bush Sr.’s habit of writing personal notes to everyone, including the "little guys."

It is Barack Obama's personal touch and "ability to bring people together" that Richardson said encouraged him to endorse Obama after dropping out of the presidential race himself. Inserting into his talk a mini-stump speech for his candidate, Richardson admitted, "I can't put my finger on it, but there’s something very good about [him]." Looking out over the relatively young Fletcher audience, he noted, "folks like you have a better shot [in an Obama presidency as opposed to a Hillary Clinton administration] where so many folks that have had a shot want to come back again."

However, it is the fact that Richardson was the recipient of one of those shots that recently propelled into the headlines his decision to back Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. Although he served as Secretary of Energy under Bill Clinton, Richardson insisted his decision was about the "future of our country" and not political alliances. He added that he had already "paid Clinton back" by serving him well and defending him after the Lewinsky scandal.

Richardson admitted his loyalty to Fletcher is another matter, lamenting that he hadn’t been more supportive just after graduation of the school that gave him "friends... contacts and international perspective." "I hope events like this help you remember Fletcher," he said, relaying that like Fletcher, his father had pushed him hard but passed away before Richardson had a chance to say thank you. He cautioned the audience not to let that happen with its alma mater.

Before his handler whisked the tan yet weary-looking Richardson to his next event, the Governor addressed his own future. His governorship ends in 2011 and he is term-limited from running again. While he did not dismiss the idea of working in an Obama administration, he acknowledged it may be time to "do something else." He urged his fellow alumni to "keep striving for what you want…but don't always feel like the pinnacle of life is right here in Washington."

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