Comments From Richardson 's Classmates

[dtotire]

With Energy To Spare
Sunday, March 11, 2007; Page B01
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- who's also a former congressman, energy secretary and U.N. ambassador -- is hoping to become the first Hispanic president. But this son of a well-to-do Anglo father and a Mexican mother is more frequently mentioned as a VP choice. Inside, those who've played college baseball and political hardball with him recall a man of boundless energy.

New England boarding schools circa 1961 weren't quite the spa environment they are today. The arrival of tall, shy, skinny (yes, skinny!) Bill Richardson at Middlesex School from sunny Mexico must have been a severe shock to him in many ways -- climatic, cultural and emotional, for starters. No matter that in pitching he was touted as a ringer; he was still a self-conscious kid like us all.
Though we sat in class, ate, played sports and had fun together at school, I didn't get to know Bill well until 1964, when my family took a trip to Mexico City over spring vacation and he invited us to his family home for lunch.
I recall driving through dirty, dusty streets surrounded by high-walled compounds. When the door opened to Bill's family compound, the impact was overwhelming. A sumptuous garden, a stunning hacienda, and an elegance and refinement that was nonexistent a few meters away. Bill's parents were gracious and cordial.
Once we were alone, Bill immediately suggested a clandestine trip to Acapulco for a few days of parentally unencumbered sensual exploration. You have no idea the impact such a suggestion can have on the imagination of a 15-year-old Episcopalian from the Midwest.
Unfortunately, the scheme soon unraveled and we didn't take the trip. We never became the lifelong fast friends we might have, but the 1960s Richardson remains for my money, in a word, cool.
-- Duncan Laurie, Richardson's classmate at Middlesex School, a New England boarding school.

Read other experiences here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030901887.html

[bigtree]

1. great accounts

The accounts show a man with principle and a forceful drive to get things done in his many roles and in his state as governor.

[skipos]

2. He has boundless political energy two

We was doing some Q&A on Cspan yesterday, and you could see that he had so many thoughts and ideas on every question posed to him. He had to stop himself from going on and on.

The fact that he loves to be involved in foreign negotiations, even though he is just a governor,says alot.

[Clark2008]

3. I hate it when the media does that - assumes Richardson isn't

a front-runner - a YEAR before the first vote is to be taken. Ridiculous.

What - he wasn't married to a president... doesn't have a media machine with a last name that sounds like someone else... isn't a pretty face who makes up crap to fit each audience he presents to while changing his mind for the next audience and he's relegated to VP choice?

Great background... stupid lede.

[merci_me]

5. I couldn't agree with you more! n/t

[Warpy]

4. He's announced an initiative to get medical pot

distributed here. My estimation of him just shot up. WAY up. It's the first time I've seen him take a non DLC approved chance.

He's far from perfect, but I might be able to vote for him without showering later.

[Czolgosz]

6. I worry about stories of Richardson and baseball. Didn't his campaign literature misrepresent that

he had been drafted to play major league baseball when that was not, in fact, true?

Some sources:

http://wonkette.com/politics/bill-richardson/bill-richardson-to-be-first-halflatino-president-230113.php
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/24/D8E325882.html
http://blogs.scripps.com/albq/state/2006/02/richardson_baseball_card_to_de.html

I understand that it was probably just an innocent mistake but when a candidate self-aggrandizes in his campaign literature (and I'm not talking about "puffing" but false statements), doesn't it just provide unnecessarily fodder for the other side? Isn't this an unforced error we just don't need?

[bigtree]

7. I don't believe you're 'worried' at all

most folks who involve themselves in making a choice will not dwell on what he said about his experiences with baseball

[Czolgosz]

8. It isn't his experience with baseball that's at issue; it's his candor.

[bigtree]

9. no issue there

just more muckraking from his political opponents

[Czolgosz]

10. No issue for you. Don't you think the Repubs will eat him alive over this?

[bigtree]

12. I think voters will brush off trivial nonsense like this

and focus on the issues and concerns which involve their daily lives and future

[jcrew2001]

11. Everyone's gets drafted or tries out

Billy Bob Thorton, Charlie Sheen, and George Clooney are a few who tried out for baseball teams.