© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007

This is the fourth in a series of reviews on books written by the 2008 presidential contenders. See the archives for earlier reviews, and check back in the next few weeks for a look at Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Living History." By Bill Richardson with Mike Ruby ISBN 045-22-8864-9 Penguin Group 361 pp. Purchase This Book

The ongoing flap between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., over whether and when a president should meet with "our enemies" abroad prompted another Democratic presidential candidate, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, to proudly feature on his campaign site a Washington Post blog entry headlined, "Richardson: I'll Meet Dictators Anytime."

That philosophy is a major theme in Richardson's 2005 autobiography, "Between Worlds," written with journalist Mike Ruby. Richardson's international exploits are explored in great detail throughout the book, which is bookended with references to his 1995 meeting in Iraq with Saddam Hussein, when he succeeded in winning the release of two American prisoners. Hussein is only one in a catalogue of notorious figures Richardson encountered both in his official capacity as ambassador to the United Nations from 1997 to 1998 and in his unofficial recurring role as "undersecretary of thugs," as he puts it, during the Clinton years and, at times, the Bush years as well. Slobodan Milosevic, Fidel Castro, Nigeria's Sani Abacha, and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega all make cameo appearances in the book, as do representatives of North Korea and the Taliban. Richardson doesn't apologize for consorting with these characters; he views such meetings as a basic instrument of foreign policy.

But lest anyone think he's merely running for secretary of state, Richardson asserts his domestic credentials as well. He served in Congress for 14 years, helmed the Department of Energy for more than two years and has governed New Mexico since 2003.

Richardson's the first to admit that his career has not been entirely scandal-free. He pleads not guilty for his role in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, claiming that his job offer to the young intern when he was U.N. ambassador was made without knowledge of her relationship to then-President Bill Clinton. But he readily concedes having made serious mistakes in the controversial Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage case when he was energy secretary. On the other hand, when referring to the furor over a 2003 incident in which his state car exceeded 100 miles per hour on a New Mexico highway, Richardson seems less contrite than annoyed at the Washington Post correspondent who reported it.

Scandals notwithstanding, Richardson has been trending upward in Iowa and New Hampshire polling despite tepid debate performances and almost no free media. This surprising, if limited, success may be attributable to Richardson's genius for retail politics, which he describes in the book.

After narrowly losing his first House race in 1980, Richardson won New Mexico's 3rd District seat easily in 1982 and has never lost an election since. He attributes his success to a strategy of campaigning exhaustively, with an emphasis on face-to-face contact. The book includes a few very detailed tips on how to "work a room," and Richardson boasts that he holds the Guinness world record for handshaking: 13,392 shakes in an eight-hour period at the New Mexico State Fair during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign -- almost 5,000 more than Theodore Roosevelt's previous record.

Richardson's electoral and diplomatic achievements, therefore, may be seen as part of a continuum; his talent for schmoozing is applicable to dealings with hostile legislators in Santa Fe as well as hostile despots in Havana.

But his success may also stem in part from his origins. The title "Between Worlds" refers primarily to Richardson's mixed heritage. He was born in California but raised in Mexico City by his Mexican mother and his American father, who ran the Mexican branch of what would become Citibank and was a confidant of Dwight Eisenhower.

Richardson presents himself as "between worlds" ideologically as well, not beholden to the right or the left. At the book's conclusion, he posits a "New Progressivism," which he says is the guiding philosophy of his administration in New Mexico. "What we are proving," he writes, "is that we are pro-people and pro-business and pro-environment at the same time, something that progressives, and Democrats, have traditionally found it difficult to do."

Richardson's position "between worlds" -- both ethnically and ideologically -- seems to have been a boon to his career. He writes that many of the world leaders he has met felt more comfortable with him because of his "brown skin" and the fact that he has no apparent liberal or conservative agenda.

But the political landscape has changed in the two years since the book was written, and Richardson is now fighting for survival in a primary contest where bipartisanship is not necessarily considered a virtue. In the book, he writes that while he regrets having supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he does not favor withdrawing troops "before the Iraqis have achieved control over their own internal security." Now, his campaign site features a petition calling for complete withdrawal, as he tries to move left of the front-runners on the issue.

Will this maneuver gain the nominally centrist governor enough credit with the anti-war base to help him stage a monumental primary upset? It may be a long shot, but given Richardson's record, one thing seems clear: His opponents will have to defeat him, because he isn't going to defeat himself.

--Deron Lee, NationalJournal.com