by Steve Painter
Daily Lobo columnist
With the gubernatorial election on Nov. 7 quickly approaching, there are some things voters need to know about Gov. Bill Richardson. Specifically, Richardson has paid little attention to the problems of New Mexico during his trips around the world for his own benefit.
Richardson wasted $5.5 million in taxpayer money when he bought a brand new jet, which came complete with leather seats and a wet bar. For the most part, Richardson does not use the plane to travel around the state. Instead, he uses the plane to travel to other states, where he is currently helping fellow Democrats campaign for the Nov. 7 elections.
As chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, he should be allowed to travel and campaign for fellow governors. But Richardson has gone further and supported several Democratic candidates for the Senate, including Ned Lamont of Connecticut, according to Richardson's Web site.
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Couple these campaign trips with Richardson's personal trips around the country to begin his possible presidential bid in 2008, and you have a governor that does not care about the people of New Mexico. When Hatch, N.M., flooded, Richardson was in Iowa crusading against Wal-Mart. He was also
getting a head start on the Iowa presidential primary. It took a few days, but when an opening was found in Richardson's schedule, he made it back to New Mexico and petitioned FEMA for flood assistance. Luckily, the flood did not wipe out the chile crop for this year.
The one thing that Richardson can use as a tool in a presidential campaign is his reputation as a great diplomat. He was ambassador to the United Nations under President Clinton, and in September, he successfully negotiated the release of a New Mexico journalist from Sudan.
Unfortunately, Richardson made two large mistakes in his role as diplomat for the United States. He allowed North Korea to steal U.S. money while failing to stop work on a nuclear weapon. Richardson let the North Koreans make a fool of him at the negotiation table, and now North Korea has a nuclear weapon and is making threats. To be fair, although this show of diplomacy is deplorable on the part of Richardson, he cannot be the only one to blame for the North Korea situation - the administration in the White House deserves some blame, too.
The biggest misstep for Richardson diplomatically occurred in April 1998, when he went to Afghanistan to meet with the Taliban about Osama bin Laden. According to Richardson's Web site, on Sept. 8, he requested that bin Laden be "expelled or extradited" from the country. Richardson stated on the Web site, "I know this sort of muscular diplomacy got bin Laden's attention, since he threatened to kill me." Three years later, the Twin Towers fell in part because of this muscular diplomacy on the part of Richardson.
Even if Richardson wins a second term as governor, he will have no chance in the presidential race, because he is not the great diplomat he claims to be. But if he does decide to carry out his futile plan of running, then New Mexico will suffer. Richardson would be out of the state campaigning for himself, while the people of the state continue to struggle with everything from health care to a lack of quality education. If Richardson remains our governor, then he owes it to the voters of the state to remain here and help solve New Mexico's problems.
Steve Painter is a UNM communication and journalism major.
