Judas Speaks.

Bill Richardson tells GQ why he broke with the Clintons to endorse Obama.

I’ve heard and read everything you’ve said about why Obama. But why then? There must have been something that put you over, that made you pull the trigger.
It was an accumulation of talks that I had with him.

With Obama?
Yeah. When he was calling me to urge me to endorse him. It was a two-month period. It was almost every third day he’d call. Himself, on the phone. And we got to know each other, even though I’d started to get to know him during the campaign and debates. We seemed, in the debates, to connect with each other—probably because we in many cases sat next to each other. We would, you know, trade glances. Like, if some other candidate was making an outrageous statement. I like to point out once that I was asked a question in one debate, and I wasn’t listening, and I turned to Obama, and he went like that [cups hand to mouth], and he said [in a whisper], “Katrina. Katrina.” So he could have thrown me under the bus, but…that was nice! I mean, most politicians would say, “Well, I’m not gonna tell you.” I liked the fact, at the debates, that he was very much like me, in that I always feel it’s important to shake everybody’s hand no matter who they are. I think you gotta show respect to people, whether they’re a custodian or… He did the same. And then, during the course of the phone calls, I found him to be very genuine. And if I can put my finger on it, this is what it is: I think there’s something very good about Obama. Something around his ability to bring people together and to excite people.

Okay, you’re having these conversations. He clearly had to know what a difficult thing this would be for you, given your history with Hillary and Bill. Did he acknowledge that? Would he bring that up?
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah. Every time. He says, “Hey man, I know this is tough for you. I understand loyalty.” But you know what he said that I liked? He said, “But this is about the country. This is about the future.”

When Hillary was calling, was she saying things like that?
No. Oh, no. Hillary and Bill were always very proper and… The discussions were more tactical. You know, “If you endorse us now, maybe we win Texas, because you’re Hispanic.”

I see.
And the approaches were different. With Obama, he called himself. Never “Okay, Governor, Senator Obama on the line.”

Like a Hollywood agent?
Yeah. I’d pick up the cell, and he’d say, “Hey, Guv, this is O-ba-ma.”

That’s how he said it?
Yeah. “O-ba-ma calling.” We connected well.

We’re not sure we buy Richardson’s talks that Obama just appealed to the better angels of his nature (Richardson said he was supposed to be the secretary of the interior in Clinton’s cabinet, but at the last minute, the Clinton Administration changed its mind). We also wonder if this thing would have had as much legs had he backed Clinton — the tack everyone expected him to take — as opposed to backing Obama, which was stoked by Carville’s tantrum and fits in nicely with the increasingly popular narrative that Clinton’s ship be sinking.

G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.
  • Big Word

    I’m beginning to think Obama’s gonna put him on the ticket. I think it’d be a good way to turn Hispanic voters to Obama.

  • And how far can Clinton’s ship sink? Sky’s the limit!

  • Tasha

    If it’s not the reason it’s packaged very nicely esp the part about ‘If you endorse us now, maybe we win Texas, because you’re Hispanic.’ If that isn’t a turn off…