The qualifications of a bicultural background.

Question: Who are you?

Bill Richardson: Bill Richardson. Governor of the state of New Mexico. I come from a bicultural background. I was born in California but raised in Mexico City. A mother that would only speak Spanish to me; a father who wouldn’t speak to me. No (Chuckles) . . . who would speak English to me. Totally bilingual, bicultural background. I think it’s shaped me because it’s allowed me to respect other cultures, other points of view. I pride myself as a negotiator, a diplomat, bringing people together, a healer. And that bilingual background – a mother and a grandmother that gave me a sense of social justice, of who I am, of trying to help others – gave me, I believe, the impetus to eventually run for public office; to be a diplomat; to be an administrator; and now to run for President as somebody that, more than anything, is qualified to bring people together.

Recorded on: 11/20/07