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Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Gov. Better at Raising Eyebrows Than Shaking Hands

By David Roybal
Of the Journal
      Ah, handshakes. Where would politicians be without them? Bill Richardson talks of them almost as a science in his autobiography. Science or not, the subject of handshakes drew added attention to Richardson last week when Barack Obama introduced him as the nominee for our nation's next Commerce Department secretary.
       More on that in a bit.
       First, a question that reaches well beyond handshakes: Is the well-traveled and very capable Richardson scandal prone?
       The National Republican Committee thinks so, and it offers its opinion while New Mexico's governor prepares for Senate confirmation to join Obama's team.
       Nothing says “change” like a scandal-prone Washington insider, the GOP committee said, taking a swipe not only at Richardson but at Obama's pledge to get our nation on a fresh new track.
       Eyeing the Commerce Department, Richardson has already served a U.S. president as United Nations ambassador and energy secretary. He became the first Hispanic to hold two Cabinet-level positions; now it could be three.
       Republicans, of course, have good reason to bash Richardson. After narrowly losing to popular Manuel Lujan Jr. in 1980, Richardson has done nothing but trounce GOP candidates in races for Congress and now twice in campaigns for governor.
       Yeah, but, you know, is he scandal prone?
       U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd (a Democrat who should have retired while he still possessed his wit) thought it best a few years back that Richardson never again set foot in the Senate in pursuit of any kind of blessing from the august chamber. Byrd was irate over security breaches at the Energy Department while Richardson served as the agency's secretary. Byrd also concluded that Richardson had not been forthright with the Senate while explaining the breaches.
       Having been confirmed by the Senate twice, Richardson had gone on to show “extreme contempt” for the Senate and never would be confirmed for anything again, scolded Byrd, once among the most influential of senators.
       The two men later patched up differences but, arguably, Richardson's sullied reputation has never been completely cleansed.
       Richardson has since stirred new controversy with lucrative awards to friends and contributors during his tenure as governor. As noted previously in this space, the U.S. Justice Department is investigating. Questioned by a grand jury, a Richardson ally asserts the feds simply are engaged in a “witch hunt.”
       If not scandal prone, there is at least occasional unease around Richardson. It's the kind that follows many politicians, certainly those from the Old School, of which Richardson is an alumnus. Can he be trusted? More than a few have asked.
       It gets us back to the topic of handshakes.
       Nothing criminal, mind you; but “amusing,” says retired Los Alamos scientist Glen Graves. Graves has long thought that someone should look anew into Richardson's claim that he shook 13,392 hands in eight hours back in 2002 while campaigning for governor. Last week, even if only in jest, Obama said that he would look further into the claim while introducing Richardson on national television as his nominee for commerce secretary.
       Obama broke from prepared remarks immediately after reading words that told of Richardson's achievement, one that is logged in Guinness World Records. Obama flashed an incredulous look before teasing that he would look into the assertion.
       Graves calculated that Richardson would have had to shake a hand every 2.17 seconds to accomplish the trumpeted record. That pretty much requires a forsaking of breaks big and small. “It would have required a line six miles long,” said Graves, who first called me with his calculations months ago.
       Richardson's alma mater, Tufts University, reports that the previous record set by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 was shattered by Richardson while shaking hands at the New Mexico State Fair and then miles away at a tailgating party.
       Graves said he learned of Obama's reference to the handshaking record from his son, John, who saw it televised in Hong Kong by CNN.
       Handshaking isn't what won Richardson the nomination as commerce secretary. He has a world of experience and many real accomplishments. He could be stellar at Commerce. The record cited in the Guinness book is little more than levity until, perhaps, it finds its way into formal remarks of the president-elect.
       “The entry in the book comes right after one that tells of the most votes ever collected by a chimpanzee in a political campaign. It was a chimp that came in third in a race for mayor of Rio de Janeiro,” said Graves. “I don't know that it added a lot to the luster of Bill's (purported) achievement.”
       David Roybal was a speech writer for Bill Richardson during his stint as energy secretary. Roybal can be reached at (505) 351-4053.
       

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