Eminentoes
The Richardson Juggernaut
Nothing can stop it, not even bad jokes.
Other candidates may have more money, better organizations, and an actual chance of winning, but Bill Richardson is the only person running for president who is a cross between Woody Allen and Rambo.
“Thank you for standing, I thought you were leaving,” the New Mexico governor joked during opening remarks to Timberland employees at the company’s headquarters in Stratham, New Hampshire on Monday. That was the first of many one-liners for the self-deprecating comedian.
Talking about the environment, he quipped, “Al Gore has been right, I just hope he stays out of the race.”
The line didn’t get much reaction, so he said, “It’s supposed to be funny. Don’t you have a sense of humor?”
Moving on to the protection of wildlife, he explained, “I have a position on the Endangered Species Act: Get your paws off. Get it? Paws off. That’s a new one. I just thought of it.”
At a campaign stop in Perry, Iowa ahead of the caucuses, Richardson displayed another side of himself. He was introduced by John Early, an International Red Cross pilot who was taken hostage by a rebel group in Sudan in 1996.
Early’s prospects of being released were grim until Richardson showed up for some hard-nosed negotiations. Richardson told him, “I promise, I will not leave here without you.” And he kept his word.
But that was just another day on the job for Bill Richardson.
“I know this region,” he said of Iraq. “I went head to head with Saddam Hussein. I got two American hostages out of Iraq. Not John — I got him out of Sudan.”
He’s traveled to every hot spot in the world.
“I always keep coming back to the Darfur genocide,” he said. “I’ve been there.”
He is a man of action.
“With Bill Richardson, you’re going to get somebody that will act,” he said when discussing his strategy to pressure Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. “I will make mistakes by acting, not by stepping back.”
And not just any kind of action.
“With Bill Richardson, you’re going to get aggressive action,” he said. “In the legislature in New Mexico, some say I’m too aggressive.”
About the Author
Philip Klein is The American Spectator’s Washington correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/Philipaklein
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