Speaking in two languages can come in very useful if you’re in politics:
MANCHESTER – Wondering if Bill Richardson is running for president? It depends on which language you speak.
“I want to be very clear about this presidential stuff,” Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, said at yesterday’s New Hampshire Latino Summit. “No, I will not run for president.”
Then, switching to Spanish, he told the heavily Hispanic crowd, “Segura que si, voy a ser candidato!”
Rough translation: You bet I am!
Just think if there had been a Jewish group there and he spoke Yiddish: he could have said to them, “I haven’t decided yet.”
But before some people with no sense of humor get bent out of shape about it, read this:
It was a light-hearted response to a question that is bound to follow Richardson for the next few years. But the bilingual answer also underscored a point Richardson made several times yesterday, as he met with members of New Hampshire’s Hispanic community and other state business and political leaders.
The Democratic Party must renew its commitment to Hispanic voters, Richardson said, as America’s political and cultural landscape shifts in the coming decades. He said Democrats should focus on states like Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, where Hispanic voters are growing in number and influence.
“The Democratic Party cannot be a party that’s Washington-based,” Richardson said. “We have to talk to every American, not just in the Northeast and on the West Coast.”
We find Richardson one of the most attractive candidates out there. In his TV appearances he actually seems to be that rarity: a politician who seems to think a bit before putting his mouth in gear. He’s reportedly building a solid record as governor. And he truly is emerging as one of his party’s true centrists.
This would, of course, make him unattractive to some Democratic party voters — particularly those who don’t like the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. But above all (so far, a least) Richardson seems to be emerging as a class act.
And he lent more credence to that belief the way he handled questions about the New Hampshire primary:
When asked about the 2008 presidential race, Richardson advised New Hampshire voters to relax for the time being.
“Keep your powder dry,” he said. “We’ve still got three and a half more years.”
And his own ambitions? Isn’t a trip to New Hampshire a sure sign of a candidacy in the making?
“I’m not making any announcements, I’m not making any hints,”Richardson said. “Although, I guess I’ve given you a little bit of a hint.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.