10 Questions for Bill Richardson

By KAREN TUMULTY

As a former U.N. ambassador, Bill Richardson, 58, has a knack for persevering in sticky situations. The New Mexico Governor, who titled his new autobiography Between Worlds--The Making of an American Life, spoke with TIME's Karen Tumulty about his possible bid to become the first Latino President, the shocking grooming habits of some world leaders and his storied baseball career.

YOU'VE BEEN SPOTTED IN PRESIDENTIAL RUN-UP PLACES LIKE NEW HAMPSHIRE. WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR A DEMOCRAT TO WIN THE WHITE HOUSE AGAIN? First, we have to have a candidate who appeals to the South and the West and pockets in the Midwest. Otherwise, we will be relegated to being the Northeastern-- West Coast bicoastal party, and for sure we will lose. We need a candidate with strong national-security credentials, and we need somebody who will speak positively about issues and not just attack the Bush Administration.

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU MIGHT BE DESCRIBING BILL RICHARDSON. No, no, I think there's a lot of good candidates out there. I do believe that, based on the party's history, Governors should have a better shot. I think the American people see Governors as budget balancers, as setting agendas, as managing.

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE PROPOSAL TO INSERT A COUPLE OF CAUCUSES BETWEEN IOWA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, PLACES WHERE YOU'VE BEEN MAKING FRIENDS RECENTLY? Nobody should tamper with Iowa and New Hampshire being the initial primaries or caucuses. That's God given and party given. But I see no harm in bringing other states with diverse populations early into the process. I don't believe quick-and-dirty early results are in the best interest of the Democratic Party.

GIVEN THAT YOU DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN NEW MEXICO OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BUSH'S RENEWING HIS CALL FOR A TEMPORARY GUEST-WORKER PROGRAM? It's not realistic to deport 12 million undocumented workers. You have to bring them out of the shadows and then have a series of benchmarks and penalties for those who don't engage in proper behavior.

SO DO YOU FEEL AS IF YOU TWO ARE PRETTY MUCH ON THE SAME PAGE? I think the President has made a good start. What he is unwilling to do, which I regret, is put political capital on the line to get an immigration bill passed. He seems to be catering too much to his ultraconservative wing that just wants heightened border security. You need to deal with both the push and pull of immigration.

YOU HAVE NEGOTIATED WITH SOME OF THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST LEADERS. WHAT'S THE SECRET TO GETTING WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF THEM? You've got to engage them personally. I try to get to know as much as I can about each of the people I'm negotiating with before we start.

WHAT TIDBIT TURNED OUT TO BE THE MOST USEFUL? When I was negotiating with [former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister] Tariq Aziz and Saddam Hussein for the release of two Americans, I found out that Aziz was a Chaldean Catholic. As a Catholic myself, the fact that I proposed that he and I attend a church service together was an advantage in connecting with him that allowed us to make the negotiations for the release of the Americans easier.

YOU WROTE THAT FIDEL CASTRO HAD THE MOST DANDRUFF YOU'D EVER SEEN. DID YOU HAVE ANY PERSONAL-HYGIENE ISSUES WITH OTHER LEADERS? When the head Taliban took off his socks and with his knife started cutting his toenails, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or stop my conversation. But I persisted.

LAST MONTH YOU ANNOUNCED THAT, AFTER RESEARCHING THE MATTER, YOU DETERMINED THAT THE KANSAS CITY ATHLETICS HAD NEVER DRAFTED YOU. HOW COULD YOU MISREMEMBER THAT DETAIL FOR FOUR DECADES? I had been told by various scouts that I would be drafted if I signed. When it appeared in the official program of my team that I had been drafted, I assumed it was correct. However, the mistake was mine. I should have checked. Obviously, it's become a little bit of an instance where I dropped the ball. Get it, Karen?

I GET IT. I GET IT. Get that? Dropped the ball?