Govs. Bruce King and Bill Richardson saw humanity in everyone

Following the death of Gov. Bill Richardson, the PBS channel KNME invited me along with others to recall experiences with Richardson and how he “got things done.” One of the guests was Steve Terrell, now a retired capitol reporter.

We discussed some of the governor’s character traits; Terrell depicted Richardson as having had a “lot of Bruce King in him.” The panel chuckled, recognizing that Bill might not enjoy that comparison as much as we did.

I thought a lot about that as I listened to President Clinton eulogize Richardson at the funeral. Many New Mexicans may not remember that President Clinton also eulogized Gov. Bruce King when he died.

In November 2009 Clinton attended a memorial in the Moriarty High gym for his friend and one-time fellow governor, Bruce King. It was filled with personal anecdotes about their friendship. He looked out at the crowd – exclaiming Gov. King would be “tickled” to be having the service in the local gym and to see it filled with the diversity of New Mexico.

Just a few weeks ago he returned to eulogize his friend Bill Richardson. He again noted the diversity of those attending. He regaled the crowd with stories, including Bill’s efforts to free American hostages unlawfully detained. While Bill was still a congressman from New Mexico’s northern district he freed two hostages being held in Iraq. This attracted Clinton to him and soon he tapped Richardson to be U.N. Ambassador.

Clinton described Bill’s energy as infectious. With good humor, he recalled why “the bad guys liked Bill.” Because Bill knew that if you “scratched long enough and hard enough on anybody, there is almost always a real person down there.”

Clinton formed a friendship with Bill that was different, yet similar, to the one he had with Bruce King. While Bruce was more a senior advisor, Richardson was more of an equal. He made it clear they had some successes but was careful not to dismiss the fact that they had serious arguments. In one of the most poignant moments of the eulogy, Clinton recounted what he called “big fights.” One, he said, required him to go to Bill and apologize. In the other, which many assumed was Bill’s endorsement of Obama and not Hillary in 2008, he said Bill finally gathered the courage to ask for his forgiveness. It doesn’t really matter what the subject was, what mattered is that they had the kind of friendship where forgiveness could happen.

How does this make Richardson and King alike? Both governors had an innate ability to recognize people, even their opponents or enemies, as real people. Clinton recalled of King that he was nice to everyone, never jealous of other governors who were camera hogs. When asked why, he said it was a genetic defect: “I missed out on the resentment gene.”

Of Gov. Richardson he said what many others also said, that he would talk to anyone, even those who had disparaged him, were enemies, or didn’t agree with him. He got the “keep scratching” gene.

Govs. Richardson and King came from different worlds. One was a New Mexican by passionate adoption, one was a New Mexican by birth. One was a rancher who attended Moriarty schools. One was a prep school grad and international negotiator. One was eulogized in a school gym, the other in a majestic cathedral. But their common ground was their ability to engage and befriend people.

Both of them drew praise for their lives and work from their shared friend, President Clinton, before hundreds of New Mexicans from every corner of the state – all faiths, all ethnicities, all backgrounds. That’s something they both would have loved.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Govs. Bruce King and Bill Richardson saw humanity in everyone