SAN FRANCISCO – My question to the governor of New Mexico evoked his broad and appealing smile:
"There is widespread discussion of your being part of the 2008 Democratic national ticket with Sen. Hillary Clinton."
"Well," replied Gov. Bill Richardson, "I have to think first about being re-elected!"
New York Times Magazine writer Jennifer Senior, before Richardson was selected as chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, described this governor as: "A relaxed and agile communicator, at times shamelessly solicitous of the press" with "an almost insatiable fondness for media attention … several times a day, he beckons his assistant to come over and touch up his makeup in order to make him camera-ready."
Gov. Richardson was in San Francisco for the Emerald Bowl, in which his University of New Mexico Lobos was invited to play the United States Naval Academy.
Richardson, on the running mate consideration list of Gore and Kerry, was on the sidelines when interviewed. And he joined the secretary of the Navy at midfield for the coin toss, which, like the rest of the Emerald Bowl, was covered by national television.
New Mexico was pre-game favorite by 2? points. They had one dozen linemen, each of whom weighed more than 300 pounds, plus quarterback Kole McKamey who passed for 202 yards and rushed for 136.
But this was one of Navy's best teams in a century. And they ran over New Mexico, 34-19.
At the coach's post-game conference with reporters, New Mexico's head coach (and former Lobo star quarterback) Rocky Long was asked:
"Did the governor of New Mexico meet with his university's players after the game?"
And Coach Long replied: "No, he did not."
That heartless mistake is not as serious as when Richardson was President Clinton's secretary of energy and two computer hard drives containing U.S. nuclear secrets vanished from Los Alamos National Laboratory (in Richardson's New Mexico), causing this to be widely referred to as "Chinese takeout."
The enrollment at the University of New Mexico is 24,762.
How many of them will not wonder why if the governor could fly from Santa Fe to San Francisco to appear with his favored bowl team, he could not save the then much shorter trip to the Lobo dressing room to commiserate with his defeated New Mexico team?
There must have been 10,000 New Mexico fans in SBC Stadium, where the favored Lobos scored first.
But Navy's superb quarterback, Aaron Polanco, proceeded to run for three touchdowns, pass 61 yards to Corey Dryden for another – and he even became a pass receiver twice. His 16 season rushing touchdowns tied Navy's All-American Joe Rellino.
Navy's defense more than measured up to the enormous line of New Mexico 300-pounders. Despite a rain-soaked field, they forced two Lobo turnovers that led to Midshipmen touchdowns. They held successfully in an impressive goal-line stand, and in a clean, but very hard hit, they took New Mexico's star runner, Don Trell Moore, out of the game.
Navy's offense kept the ball for a record 14-and-a-half minutes and 26 plays prior to a field goal.
Navy's head coach, Paul Johnson, told reporters after the game that Navy has what he termed "wonderful support" – from 1,500 of the Brigade of Midshipmen who traveled from all over the nation to support their team – along with 15,000 alumni.
And the Midshipmen lined up on an adjoining pier to parade into the stadium and the heavy rain clouds parted – for a sunlight that to most of us was presidential.