Liveblogging Bill Richardson at the IOP

7:25 pm: He outlines a handful of improvements that could be made in state politics, energy, and a host of other issues, and concludes the event with the words, “but I’m just an unemployed former governor”—much to the amusement of the crowd. -Andrew Seo
7:23 pm: Richardson states how more female candidates are needed in today’s politics. -Andrew Seo
7:15 pm: Question about why President Obama has not passed the ban on assault rifles when 6,000 gun shops line the border between Mexico and the US. Why not nip the problem in the bud and ban all drugs? Law-abiding cartels would never see it coming!  –Sarah Siskind
7:13 pm: Biggest challenge for Richardson: a bill about replacing the death penalty with life incarceration. –Sarah Siskind
7:11 pm: Richardson believes that the people need to act and make it known to their politicians that they want these options explored. –Andrew Seo
7:08 pm: A student from MIT asks a question about the politics of alternative energy. He wants to know if it is sufficient for the executive branch to take the initiative or if the legislative branch will need to play a role. –Andrew Seo
7:08 pm: Richardson is asked a question regarding the United States’ relations with Native Americans. Richardson says there are many issues we ignore concerning our Native American population, such as health care and energy. –Simon Thompson
7:01 pm: Richardson: “To have legalization of drugs you need law enforcement’s cooperation and they’re against it.” Probably because if they were for it, they’d be out of a job. –Sarah Siskind
6:59 pm: Richardson believes that the US should emphasize treatment, education, and rehabilitation. Instead, the focus is on incarceration and law enforcement. I couldn’t agree more. –Andrew Seo
6:57 pm: “There is this saying that Mexico lives next to a giant and every time the giant sneezes it causes a turmoil.” More accurate to say every time the giant snorts. –Sarah Siskind
6:56 pm: Response to question on Mexico: “you guys are so smart.” (re: diplomacy) –Sarah Siskind
6:56 pm: Allison reminds the audience how President Calderon and US ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual (who recently submitted his resignation to President Obama) graduated from the Kennedy School. -Andrew Seo
6:54 pm: “I want to set up in Santa Fe, the best city in the world. Well, second best, next to Cambridge.” It’s easy to see how this guy is good at diplomacy. –Sarah Siskind
6:53 pm: Richardson says how he wants to visit every Major League ballpark. That’s a lot of ceremonial first pitches. –Simon Thompson
6:52 pm: A student from the college asks what Richardson’s future plans are. “I would check the Boston Red Sox. They need some pitching.” –Andrew Seo
6:50 pm: The first questioner asks Richardson how he prepared to govern effectively. Richardson talks about the importance of management and says how he enjoyed the governorship because it gave him power: “I like power.” –Simon Thompson
6:50 pm: Graham Allison: “I have a friend in the CIA who never thought he’d be hoping for Kim Jong Il’s health.” You know what they say, the Il that you know is better than the Il that you don’t. –Sarah Siskind
6:48 pm: The floor is now opened up for questions. –Simon Thompson
6:47 pm: “It is not in America’s interest to have a country like North Korea with nuclear weapons.” –Sarah Siskind
6:45 pm: Richardson outlines the past three presidents’ policies on North Korea and believes that engagement works the best. –Andrew Seo
6:44 pm: Richardson comments on North Korea. He believes that any small altercation could trigger a “massive, massive war on the Korean peninsula.” –Andrew Seo
6:42 pm: Richardson asks the best minds, best academics, best scientists to help solve some of today’s challenges. It’s a shame that politics gets in the way of policy making. –Andrew Seo

6:40 pm: (On bipartisanship) “Where’s congressman Inglis, the Republican from South Carolina?  Oh, did he walk out?” –Sarah Siskind

(note: the writers acknowledge that Congressman Inglis did not attend the forum and likely envisions a similar energy policy as does Richardson. –Simon Thompson)
6:37 pm: Richardson describes how bipartisanship is necessary. “We have to work with Republicans to get things done.” Sounds like more rhetoric from the politicians. –Andrew Seo
6:36 pm: Graham Allison: “Every successive president has voiced that we will decline our dependence on foreign oil.” Quite true, especially around election time. –Sarah Siskind
6:35 pm: “I think of all our presidents, President Obama has been the most forceful… in shifting from fossil fuels.” That’s something to be proud of. -Simon Thompson
6:34 pm: “This oil spill could have been averted… and could’ve avoided the politics.” I agree with the first part. –Sarah Siskind
6:31 pm: After discussing his successful negotiations with Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, among others, one only hopes Governor Richardson could negotiate with Fukushima. -Sarah Siskind
6:30 pm: “This is an intensive review we have to do (of our energy policy)… Nuclear power has to be part of the mix, but we must do a review.” –Simon Thompson
6:28 pm: Energy policy time. Richardson rattles off a few statistics. Nuclear constitutes 20% of domestic production. We have 104 plants in 31 states. –Andrew Seo
6:27pm: The conversation moves to energy and Governor Richardson brings up the Deepwater Horizon accident, the recent coal mining accidents, and now the recent catastrophe in Japan. –Simon Thompson
6:26 pm: Allison poses a hypothetical situation in which Richardson parachutes into Tripoli. Richardson describes how he would tell Gadaffi to concede, given the worldwide backing and the inevitability of the opposition forces taking over. Can someone set this up? -Andrew Seo
6:24 pm: (Talking about negotiations with Saddam Hussein) “I treat everyone with respect…A human connection was established… ultimately he released the two prisoners.” Bill Richardson is like Machiavelli with charisma. -Sarah Siskind
6:23 pm: Allison states the list of people that Richardson has dealt with over the years: Saddam in Iraq, Kim Jong-il in North Korea, Bashir in Sudan, Castro in Cuba, Milosevic in Yugoslavia. Describing these men as “bad people” is an understatement. –Andrew Seo

6:21 pm: The key to negotiations is “to be honest.” Now that’s a concept in diplomacy. -Andrew Seo
6:20 pm: His secret to successful negotiating? He treats everyone with respect. He tries to “connect with the bad person.” -Andrew Seo
6:19 pm: Richardson describes how “bad people like Bill Richardson.” -Andrew Seo
6:18pm: Bill Richardson suggests possible covert action via secret selling of arms to the Middle East.  Iran Contra déjà vu. –Sarah Siskind
6:14pm: Richardson predicts Gaddafi’s own military will force him from his country, and guesses Zimbabwe as the country of choice to which he’ll exile. –Simon Thompson
6:14 pm: Moderator Allison asks, “Should we arm them [the Libyan opposition forces]?” Richardson believes that covert action, supplying arms are all fair game, as long as there are no boots on the ground and a substantial NATO backing. Will the public perceive this to be the right way to intervene in the Middle East? Maybe. -Andrew Seo
6:12pm: The conversation moves to Libya. “Airstrikes, yes. Boots on the ground, no,” says Richardson. -Simon Thompson
6:12pm: Twelve minutes into the interview Libya is brought up. That’s twelve more than expected. -Sarah Siskind
6:11pm: “Energy is bipartisan.” Wishful thinking? –Sarah Siskind
6:09pm: Today’s event is in the form of an “interview of Bill Richardson,” as moderator Graham Allison describes it. Ironic for an event called the 2011 Corliss Lamont Lecture. –Andrew Seo
6:08pm: Richardson describes his best job as governor and the ability to “run the show.” –Andrew Seo
6:04pm: The forum is under way! Graham Allison, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, introduces visiting Institute of Politics fellow and former governor Bill Richardson. –Simon Thompson
5:58 pm: Three writers, Simon Thompson, Sarah Siskind, and Andrew Seo, will be liveblogging today’s IOP forum headlined by Bill Richardson, a current IOP visiting fellow, former governor of New Mexico, and US ambassador to the UN. –Andrew Seo
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, United Nations Mission to the U.N. and Wikipedia