Painful.
That’s the word that came to mind as I watch Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson on Meet the Press yesterday. I’m rarely up early enough on Sunday morning to catch the show so I’m not familiar with how host Tim Russert handles interviews. Others are – and apparently his skewering of Democratic candidates is nothing new. Richardson should have known what was coming – and should have been better prepared.
Did Russert ask a single question that could have elicited a positive response? I didn’t hear one but judge for yourself. It seemed to me that every question forced Gov. Richardson to play defense. He tried valiantly to change the tone but the badgering of Russert made it impossible.
Don’t get me wrong – I still think that Richardson is the best candidate in the field and our best chance for capturing the presidency in 2008. But the MTP interview didn’t help him – at all. The only thing that helped was that his interview was on a holiday weekend. Hopefully, not many people saw it.
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Better to face the fire now than later on. Russert is known for gotcha questions… he was painfully unprepared.
I cant wait for when he gets to attack Hillary :-p
Vivian, what bothered me most was his camera presence. He hardly ever looked into the camera and often had his eyes focused downward towards the floor. Who is advising him?
I have no idea who is advising him but whoever it is, he needs to fire him/her.
I’m more than surprised that he performed so poorly. Heck, it’s not as if he hasn’t been in front of a camera before.
I tend to agree with Louis – I was extremely disturbed by this great negotiator completely not looking into the camera – it was very shifty and akward.
I honestly dont know why anyone goes on Meet anymore. It’s only for political junkies – no one outside of the political world really cares about it.
If ever there were a doubt about Bill Richardson’s character and his ability to lead, it was confirmed in an hour on Meet The Press. In a word, unqualified! Anyone watching the governor’s doublespeak, inability to tell the truth and articulate cogent argument, knows he is simply not competitive. For God’s sake, he can’t even tell us if he’s a Yankees or Red Sox fan! Mr. Richardson would serve his party well, and the country for that matter, by withdrawing immediately. He is both a distraction and waste of time.
Richardson by now is the only democrat that can appeal to people in the states that voted for George Bush. Hillary Clinton is hated everywhere and I doubt that Obama can appeal to white collar workers.
Ralph – I have to disagree. I think it was the nature of the interview. There is no way that Richardson could have accomplished what he has over his career if he was as bad as you say.
Andre – (sorry – I don’t know how to type the accent mark 😦 ) I think you’re right.
Hello Vivian,
You might have perused the remarks about Bill Richardson on Bearing Drift…but I know that you have expressed my opinon before. I have thought Bill Richardson would be the Democratic Nominee for some time.
Anybody can have an off day. Just remember the last few appearances on MTP for John McCain.
I still owe you dinner at Freemason Abbey–email me.
Actually, I did not think he came off all that bad. He seemed like a real, intelligent person. He changes his positions as new information come to light, and admits his mistakes.
I’ll take him over Clinton, Obama, and Edwards anyday.
Vivian
Don´t worry about the accent. I would dump it if I´d emmigrate to the US…
I think that Richardson is the kind of dark horse candidate that always get the nomination when the race is so divided. Let´s see…
As someone who generally favors Republicans over Democrats (though less so recently), Gov. Richardson strikes me as the best candidate of the lot. Republicans included (maybe Sen. Thompson will change my mind).
As for Tim Russert being tough on Dems, ever see him go after Sec. Rice?
My ideal showdown would be between Gov. Richardson and GOV. Thompson (not Senator Thompson).
I think that Richardson is a crook. Time will tell, but I think his day is coming. He’s also supposed to be personally nasty.
Tommy Thompson did a terrible job in his cabinet post and as governor of Wisconsin. The scandals came close, but not quite close enough (same as Richardson).
And not Sen. Thompson. A first class b.s. artist, pretending to be a man of the people just like he pretends to be a D.A. on t.v. It’s all an act. Check the excellent Glenn Greenwald article on him at Salon.com