Reading the Washington Post today, you’d think Gov. Bill Richardson was content just chillin’ with his homies in New Mexico.
Of course, those who have watched his career know that isn’t really the case, even if Richardson wants people to believe it.
The governor’s most extensive interview since withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary resulted in today’s Post article, which is headlined, “Bill Richardson, at Peace In the Political Desert.”
The governor says he’s had enough of Washington, at least for now.
“The end-all, be-all for many in politics is Washington,” the article quoted Richardson as saying. “I’ve been there, I’ve done service in the Congress, Cabinet, the U.N. I don’t miss it one bit. I really don’t.”
Richardson was quoted in the article as saying he wishes those who work in Washington well and is “satisfied with what they’re doing.”
“I don’t have to be part of it to feel satisfied. I really don’t,” he said. “This is hard convincing people because they know me, but I’ve found the ultimate job in being governor. I really have.”
My question: How many times can you say you have the best job in the world as governor of New Mexico — and then turn around and try to get another job — before people just roll their eyes every time you say it?
‘No easy next step’
Anyway, the article does a good job of laying out exactly where Richardson finds himself at 61 years of age:
“If all had gone according to plan, Bill Richardson would be at center stage in Washington, wheeling, dealing and glad-handing around the globe — as president, or at least as secretary of state,” the article begins. “But Richardson remains the Democratic governor of New Mexico, barreling across the vast high desert here, the wind howling and the sand flying as he races to build a legacy and rebuild his career. The nation’s most prominent Latino politician is stuck in virtual exile, term-limited from office in two years with no easy next step.”
That’s, of course, because of the federal grand jury investigation of allegations of pay-to-play in the Richardson administration, which knocked the governor from his nomination as commerce secretary.
The article is an interesting read. Richardson reiterates in it, as he’s done in the past when speaking about the grand jury probe, that he is “very confident that we did nothing wrong.” He also complained that the probe “just drags on.” The article quotes “sources” as saying the probe is “moving along aggressively.”
‘I’ve got years ahead of me’
There are some signs in the article published today that Richardson is still looking beyond the New Mexico horizon. The global troubleshooter told the newspaper he still talks regularly with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about foreign policy.
He also said he has been in contact with North Korean leaders since they launched a missile in defiance of world powers earlier this month, and that he has negotiated with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations to try to secure the release of an American journalist being held in that country.
Richardson, the article states, “has been knocked down, but he knows it is possible to return to a blaze of glory.”
“You know, I’ve got years ahead of me,” the article quoted Richardson as saying. “I’m not a long-range planner.”