New Mexico's man on the move
BILL RICHARDSON'S press availability outside the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has drawn only a half a handful of reporters. The New Mexico governor has just finished a distant fourth in the early Democratic fund-raising sweepstakes, his $6 million dwarfed by Hillary Clinton's $26 million, Barack Obama's $25 million, and John Edwards's $14 million.
And yet, he's feeling pretty good. Richardson has outdistanced both Chris Dodd ($4 million) and Joe Biden (nearly $4 million), adding to the sense that he's the second-string presidential candidate with the best chance of getting into the game.
Now if only his SUV, waiting outside the sub shop where his wife, Barbara, has ordered a bite, could get moving. "Are they getting this for you?" he asks her impatiently, of the laggardly lunch. Has his staff called ahead to the next event? Where is that event, anyway?
"She said it would take her two seconds to whip it up," Mrs. Richardson notes, a bit defensively. His staffers respond with quick answers and yes sirs, a formality that sounds odd from close aides. When one confuses the upcoming stop in Henniker with a later appearance in Hanover, a sudden exclamation makes Richardson's exasperation obvious.
The sub arrives. The SUV rolls. The candidate relaxes, becomes expansive, funny.
Here's his pitch: He's a governor in a field of legislators -- and as he will shortly tell students at New England College, "I was in Congress 15 years. They do nothing there. Governors do."
Plus, as former UN ambassador, he's got real foreign policy experience. "I have negotiated with foreign countries, I have rescued hostages, I have gotten cease-fires, I have dealt with the Middle East, with Latin America," he says.
As the CEO of New Mexico and a half-Hispanic candidate, he could tip some close Southwestern states into the Democratic column. "I bring the potential of Hispanic votes, I bring the potential of votes in . . . Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado," he says.
He's not a traditional Democrat, he stresses. "I am a tax cutter," he says. A tax cutter with an asterisk: His income and capital-gains tax cuts were offset with fee hikes and a higher cigarette tax, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
In Iraq, he'd push for regionalization and would withdraw US troops within a year. He supports abortion rights, backs the death penalty, opposes gun control, including background checks.
Probing, one gets the impression that politics is as important as philosophy in shaping his stands. His opposition to gun control, even background checks, "is a cultural issue," he asserts. Although he opposes gay marriage, he would support civil unions nationally -- but is pushing more limited domestic partnerships back home. That's what is achievable, he says.
When a student asks about "don't ask, don't tell" and gay marriage, Richardson wins applause by declaring his opposition to the military's policy -- but answers in a way that leaves the questioner uncertain about his stand on the second matter.
He's got a 10-point plan for universal healthcare coverage, including both an employer and an individual mandate. How would he pay for it? You cut administrative waste and "you reorder priorities." No new revenues required, he says. Hmmm.
He's also got a question for me: Am I the guy calling around New Mexico asking if he's a bully?
Well, I have asked that in discussing his hard-charging style -- and Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano, a Richardson fan, has dimed me out.
Not with him, says Altamirano. "If he could drive the United States the same way he has driven New Mexico, he would be a good president," he says.
Others see him differently. "If you dare disagree with him, he damn sure doesn't forget," says state Senator Timothy Jennings, a conservative Democrat. "He is pretty hard on vetoing money for your district, stuff like that."
"He is an incredibly gifted politician, yet he also has a mean streak, and if you see his ornery side, it can be very unattractive," adds another source.
Richardson dismisses the notion that he's threatening or vindictive -- "that's just ludicrous" -- as well as complaints, notably from his female lieutenant governor, that he's annoyingly physical, always touching and poking.
"I never did it inappropriately," he says, exasperation creeping into his voice.
No, he's not a celebrity candidate, but give him a closer look, see how he stacks up, he urges his college audience. The hard-driving Richardson deserves one -- his rough edges and all.
Scot Lehigh's e-mail address is lehigh@globe.com. 
