Las Vegas Sun: Richardson elusive as a presidential candidate

[Colobo]

First, I was promised 10 minutes alone at a "block party" in late March at Richardson's Las Vegas headquarters. But he stayed busy with another reporter. I watched as he talked and ate, pieces of hot dog bun flying from his mouth.

Josh McNeil, Richardson's Nevada press aide, told me I was next. Then, in a flash, a reporter from New Mexico stole my slot. McNeil looked at his watch. The governor had a plane to catch.

"How about one question," McNeil asked. "We'll take care of you next time."

I asked Richardson how he intended to catch the front-runners. "This race isn't about money," he said, turning to sign autographs and pose for pictures. End of interview.

A month passed. I kept calling, offering to go most anywhere for an interview. Richardson returned to Las Vegas, this time to speak to Culinary Union members.

Alas, time was short, I was told.

May came and went. Then, in June, an earthquake.

An extensive profile by the New Republic was posted online June 12. Titled "Paper Candidate," it was a lengthy analysis of Richardson's famously varied resume and what the writer, Ryan Lizza, deemed a disconnect between the candidate on paper and the candidate in reality.

"Richardson has again and again created the impression that he doesn't know the basics," Lizza wrote, chronicling a series of inconsistencies and verbal gaffes on the campaign trail. And, of course, the awkward moment, captured at an Iowa AAA baseball game, of Richardson "tickling" the scalp of one young woman and then reaching for another before stopping.

The piece sent a chill through the Richardson camp. McNeil said the campaign was now skittish about granting interviews.

The next week, on June 17, Richardson returned to Nevada. I had been promised 15 minutes in a vehicle with the governor. But I was late, called away for another story.

I caught up later, following Richardson on his official Nevada "canvass kickoff" (knock on two doors of two houses for the cameras, race off).

I chased to his next event. "No time," McNeil said.

The campaign did say I could see the governor speak to a class of Hispanic immigrants learning English. I trailed Richardson down a long hall of the Flamingo Road branch of the Clark County Library, watching as McNeil dropped his Black Berry and Richardson crushed it underfoot - never breaking stride.

Richardson spoke to the class in Spanish, then appeared to wink at me before leaving for a fundraiser.

"Next time," McNeil told me. "Next time."

As July came, the profile took on more urgency. Richardson was gaining ground. He hit double digits in some state polls. His Nevada fund raising numbers topped all Democrats' in the second quarter.

And then, a break: a tentative promise to let me spend the day with Richardson on a coming Nevada trip, and some one-on-one time in New Mexico, in August.

But soon after came word that New Mexico must wait. The governor was traveling too much. (He did manage to pose for a Playboy magazine portrait in New Mexico in August.)

The promised Nevada meeting was to be in Reno on Aug. 22. But it dissolved into an impromptu news conference in a hallway at the Grand Sierra Resort, crowded by a television crew. Richardson hurriedly told me that the Republican-rich rural parts of the state would propel him in Nevada's Jan. 19 caucus es .

He was heading to Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno, later that day. I pleaded for a ride-along.

McNeil agreed. I could follow Richardson , but only in a campaign "chase car," not riding with the governor. "That's when he does his New Mexico business," McNeil said. "In between events."

I accepted. To get my ride, I was to meet the chase car at the Reno Telemundo station at 5:30 p.m. At 5:20 p.m., I made a left turn into the parking lot and nearly smashed into Richardson's caravan - leaving early for Fernley.

I maneuvered around Richardson's SUV and his caravan zoomed off, leaving me behind. I shouted and waved. I called McNeil. The chase car circled back to pick me up.

"I'm sorry," McNeil said. "We forgot."

We arrived in Fernley an hour early, surely enough time for an interview. But Richardson was nowhere in sight. Neither was McNeil.

I spied Richardson giving interviews to local reporters in another room.

"Is the governor doing one-on-ones?" I asked an aide.

"You'll have to talk to Josh about that," came the answer.

More at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2007/sep/15/566644143.html

[rurallib]

1. He did an event in our little town in Iowa. When the local reporter

approached him he literally turned and walked away to shake hands with a crowd in the other direction. At that time I did not know about his aversion to the press. Someone else told me about it the next day.

[Carrieyazel]

4. Hillary never answers questions from the press, at least Richardson can relate 1 to 1 with the voter

[Neshanic]

2. Hs believes that asking questions is a choice. He does not choose to answer.

He is the most uninspiring candidate we have, and that's quite a feat.

[Bluebear]

3. 'Some people just like to criticize'

:eyes:

[Colobo]

6. You really dislike me, don't you?

[saracat]

5. Wow! On his trips to Arizona Richardson has been the most approachable of candidates.

This is hard for me to believe.I do know he always seems to be running late but I have seen him give lots of interviews and answer lots of questions.

[seasat]

7. And why won't Obama go through the hour long MTP meat grinder?

Is he being elusive? How about him not attending all the future debates? Did he get burned in some of the earlier debates and is now being elusive?

I've been following the Richardson campaign and he gives a lot of interviews. He has to get his name out. He's even given tons of interviews to bloggers who usually ask tougher questions than most print reporters.

It sounds to me like this reporter did not write very favorably about Richardson in his first interview in January and Richardson doesn't want to give him a lot of other interviews. I doubt that he'll give the Iraq war supporting New Republic another interview either. Richardson like Obama, does not want to give his opponents anything to use against him. If the interview is probably going to be a series of "gotchas", of course they'll avoid it.

The reporter also notes that Richardson has set up a 25 minute interview with him on Oct 2nd. You conveniently left that part our in your snips from the piece. (BTW, what happened to the four paragraph limit from copyrighted sources?) Not granting one reporter an interview every time he asks for it is not avoiding all reporters. That is a silly conclusion.