Continued from Part 3.
House Party, Hampton: 2 pm
I only get slightly lost trying to find the house hosting the final event of the day. Was that Liberty Lane East or West? I finally park at the end of a very long lane of cars on a curving street and walk up the brick path to the house. I feel kind of weird just walking in the front door of someone I don’t know, but I guess that’s how these things go. I squeeze into the back of the living room to hear the Gov praising the elected officials who came out to talk with him.
“What paper are you from?” whispers a well-dressed lady.
I need to get better at answering this kind of question. I look blank, then say, “I write for the Harvard Law Record and the Bill Richardson Blog.” She nods like this is what she expected, and points to an older woman in an orange blouse. “She’s the host of the party.”
I nod like I’m all ready to go interview her, when I’m really thinking, I hope she doesn’t come up to me, say “Who are you?” and kick me out of her house.
Richardson is gesturing to a blond woman near him, who I realize is new Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. Cool of her to come out. He also points out the state Speaker of the House, Terie Norelli, and other people whose names I can’t keep up with. This is a pretty high-powered living room. I think I was misled by all the knitted sweaters.
Richardson is talking about how much he likes retail politics, and how this works out well with how active New Hampshire voters are. “You want candidates who talk about issues,” he says, and lots of heads nod. “Who are real, who you can see and touch and see what their heart is made of. And I like that.” This comes across as really genuine. “The factors in your choice,” he says, “should be ‘Where do you stand? What’s your experience, and what have you done?’”
A woman with a fancy camera squeezes through the door, and I notice that on one side of her green laminated ID it says “Hillary” very large (as in, For President), and then below that, “Traveling Press.” I have no idea what that’s about, but she takes a picture and leaves a minute later. Weird.
The Gov talks about health care, about switching the focus to preventative care, and how he’s looking into the Massachusetts plan to see if it’s a good national model. He reiterates that he isn’t running a campaign full of glamour and jets and hundreds of staff: “I had a consultant, but I fired him, so it’s just me.”
He very quickly gets to the question phase, and is first hit with a direct question about women’s rights. His answer is just as direct: “I’ll always be pro-choice.” He speaks a bit more about the need to not make policy based on religion, on his support for contraception and education that prevents unwanted pregnancy, and reminds the crowd that presidents appoint judges who majorly affect the interpretation of our rights. He ends by looking the woman in the face and says, “So I’ll be with you.” She seems very happy.
Richardson takes more questions, and talks about election reform and his push to get paper ballots in more states, his skills in diplomacy, and even how he’d reform the international bodies he believes so much in. He wants to expand the Security Council, and reform the IMF and World Bank to weed out corruption and make sure loans to countries help build social systems and enterprise. He says bluntly that he would increase our foreign aid budget, because we could be radically checking AIDS and it’s just embarrassing we’re not better funding poverty and nutrition programs. I am really thrilled to hear this.
The Gov’s biggest problem right now is that he has so much to say that he can go on two or three tangents within the same question. Answering a job about the retention of American jobs, he goes from the problems with government jobs programs to streamlining the military budget to his dislike of spending a lot of money to update our nuclear weapons, and then swings back to American workers. It’s endearing because he’s getting so into it, but a little whiplash results.
I sneak into the kitchen so I can position myself to say hi (or goodbye) when he’s done. After this event he’s rushing back to New Mexico, so I figure I won’t get some big chat with the Gov – on this trip, at any rate. The staff are pacing, trying to signal him to stop taking questions already. In the living room, the Gov is rolling through his immigration proposals and expressing support for McCain-Kennedy – “that is, if Senator McCain still supports that, he’s been changing his mind lately.” That gets a laugh.
Finally, we hear him say “I have a lot of power as a governor, but not over Delta Airlines. Which they tell me is going to leave without me.” He flashes a big smile, and with that, makes for the door. I make sure to get in his way and stick out my hand.
Richardson’s eyes flash with recognition. “Harvard Law School!” he cries, like it’s my name, and he pumps my hand up and down.
“I’m so glad I got to meet you today,” I say. “I’m going to write it all up on the blog.”
“Great,” he says. “Thanks for coming out. You do that.” And that’s it. The NECN reporter swoops in, and my big encounter with the guy I want to be President is over.
I shake hands, collect some business cards, thank Jeff for inviting me, and head outside in the snow. I tell him that if the campaign returns my emails, I’ll know it was a successful day. I pass Norelli’s car, with its Speaker of the House license plate, and another plate marked President Pro Tem, I guess of the NH Senate. It really was quite a living room. And right before I get to my car, I pass a car whose backseat holds a very faded sign I know too well: Dean for America. Ah, I remember those days.
Back on the road, I head down I-95 toward Boston. It’s been quite a day. I wondered what I’d think, seeing this person I’d been reading about forever actually meet voters and talk about his record, and now I know: Bill Richardson IS the real deal. His answers aren’t always clean and polished, but he’s loose, funny, and a walking encylopedia of policy expertise. I hope he made some fans today. I’m almost positive he did.
Then I stop at a Wendy’s along the interstate. And shovel a baked potato, salad, fries, and a soda into my mouth. It’s been a long day.
Thanks for reading the series. Hope you all enjoyed it! And for the record, Pahl Shipley promptly returned an email. Nice guy.