No Longer in Race, Richardson Is a Man Pursued
By MARK LEIBOVICH
Published: February 23, 2008
(Isaac Brekken/NYT)
Mr. Richardson and Mrs. Clinton share laugh during a break at a CNN democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Lots of people are calling Gov. Bill Richardson these days, “just to check in.”
Barack Obama calls every three days or so. He called on Friday of last week, but Mr. Richardson was tied up with the Legislature, so he tried again on Monday and left a message on voice mail (“following up from Friday”) before finally connecting with his defeated presidential rival late Tuesday, and then again two days later. Mr. Richardson took a half-hour call from Bill Clinton on Tuesday and received about 10 others — a typical day — from people calling “on behalf of Hillary”: former cabinet secretaries, mutual friends, elected officials. “Heavyweight types,” Mr. Richardson calls them....
Mr. Richardson quit the presidential race on Jan. 10 and has since gone from courting voters at the grass roots to being courted himself at the highest levels. He is “genuinely torn” about any endorsement, he said, adding that he might offer one next week or perhaps not at all. He is one of the biggest prospective endorsers in the Democratic Party: former candidate, prominent Hispanic governor, influential superdelegate and generally beloved teddy bear among party insiders, if not by the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire, both of which dealt him distant fourth-place finishes in their early nominating contests.
Mr. Richardson’s transition from supplicant to benefactor provides a glimpse into a rarefied theater of political persuasion. Within hours of his exit from the race, he received calls from Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and John Edwards. Mr. Clinton, who as president made him United Nations ambassador and then energy secretary, called him even before his withdrawal was announced. All of them wished Mr. Richardson the best and told him he had run a great race and, oh, by the way, “we need you.”...
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In their courtship of Mr. Richardson, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama are skilled and nonpressuring, their efforts appropriate, he said. They make no implicit suggestions of future jobs or favors. Sometimes they talk issues, usually a bit about the state of the race....“I feel a great deal of personal loyalty to the Clintons,” Mr. Richardson said several times in the interview, his face betraying the agony of indecision as much as fondness. He went on to describe Mr. Obama as “remarkable,” “someone I like very much” and a leader “who is creating something that’s really good in this country.”...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/us/politics/23richardson.html?_r=1&oref=login&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all
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