Richardson on Meet the Press: Some Advice For the Candidate

First piece of advice for Governor Bill Richardson: Stop calling yourself an “insurgent” candidate.

Second: Yesterday on Meet the Press, Tim Russert nailed Richardson on the contradiction in his book — 18 months ago, you’re saying, “we must see this mission through,” and now he is saying, “all troops out in 2007.”

How does a candidate get out of this ham? I would recommend a variation of the Romney I-spoke-to-a-Harvard-geneticist speech on abortion.

If new data or facts come into the equation, it’s okay to come to a different conclusion. Many who were isolationists on December 6, 1941, (or September 10, 2001) changed their minds the next day. Circumstances change, and it’s okay to change your mind. A flip-flopper changes his mind in relation to poll numbers, or just flat-out indecisiveness.

But Richardson begins by reciting his resume:

“Tim, I know this region well. I was U.N. ambassador. Eighty percent of my time was spent on the Iraq issue. I faced down Saddam Hussein, brought back two American hostages. I know the region well. I know the leaders there. I regret not having pushed more diplomatically early on with President Bush. I do regret that. But look where we are now. There’s a civil war, there’s sectarian conflict…”

Richardson could have cited any one of several factors – the execution of Saddam turning into a Shia revenge ceremony, the Shia and Sunni refusal to make any serious concessions, the parliament’s talk of taking a two-month vacation, a majority of Iraqi parliament members indicating they’ll support the Sadr resolution for a withdrawal date — as the key indicator that suggested to him that the U.S. had done all it can for Iraq.

Instead, Richardson steps into a fairly basic contradiction: