A spiffy quote by Bill Richardson on the Bush administration’s total incompetence in the foreign policy area.
“President Bush doesn’t seem to understand that success in foreign policy requires both a strong military and smart diplomacy,” Richardson said during an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Because while diplomacy without power is weak, power without diplomacy is blind.”
Describing a world confronted with the threat of nuclear and other forms of terrorism, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations stressed that America must work to rebuild good relationships with other countries and not shy away from talking to unfriendly regimes.
“I have stood toe-to-toe with some of the world’s toughest customers, including Saddam, Castro, the North Koreans and, most recently, the Sudanese leader Bashir,” Richardson said. “I have gotten all these tough guys to do what I wanted them to do because I put my disdain for them aside, and talked to them.”
“You need to know your enemy if you want him to cooperate,” he added.
I tell ya, the more I hear from this guy, the more I like him.
My current feeling is that, if Gore stays out, I’ll be supporting Richardson. Too early to say for sure. He does make a lot of sense and has an impressive resume… but with one significant blemish which may or may not amount to much.
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I am worried that his time as Energy Secretary might end up being something of an albatross for him, particularly the Los Alamos espionage affair and his handling of it. Robert Byrd told him in a Senate hearing (i.e. very public record):
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That’s a heck of a quote from a fellow Democrat.
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Despite that, I like Richardson a lot, and look forward to his campaign.