Democratic
presidential candidate Bill Richardson said Thursday his use
of a Spanish word that some contend is a slur against
homosexuals was meant to be playful but apologized to
anyone who was offended.
With critics
revisiting the statement he made on a radio program a year
ago, Richardson questioned the timing of their comments.
''My record is
the strongest among the presidential candidates on gay
rights issues, and I'm puzzled by the timing of this. When
it happened a year ago nobody seemed to think it was
terribly important. Now it surfaces,'' he told the
Associated Press in an interview.
''It's probably a
sign from other campaigns that they are little worried
about me,'' he said.
Richardson, a
Hispanic and the governor of New Mexico, was a guest on Don
Imus's syndicated radio program on March 29, 2006. Imus, who
later lost his job over making racial comments,
jokingly said one of his staffers suggested Richardson
was ''not really Hispanic.''
Richardson
replied in Spanish that if the staffer believes that, then
he is a ''maricon.''
The Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation says the word means
''faggot'' in Spanish.
In a statement
this week Richardson said that in the Spanish he grew up
speaking, ''the term means simply 'gay,' not positive or
negative.''
He told the AP on
Thursday, ''It was a playful exchange between me and
Don Imus that was not intended to demean anybody, but if I
offended anybody, I apologize.''
Looking at the
political landscape for the 2008 race, Richardson said it
is crucial that he do well in Nevada's caucuses on January
19, the second earliest in the nation, if he's to
have a shot at winning the nomination.
''It's critically
important I show strength in my own region,'' he said.
''It doesn't mean I have to win, but I have to be a major
player here.''
Dressed in blue
jeans, a dark blue T-shirt, and tennis shoes, Richardson
shook hands and chatted with residents in both English and
Spanish at the Sparks Hometowne Farmer's Market just
east of Reno. He planned a stop Friday in rural Elko
300 miles to the east--a longtime Republican
stronghold--after opening his northern Nevada campaign
headquarters in Reno.
''I share the
same Western values,'' he said while on the way to the
market, where he told potential voters he likes to hunt,
listen to country music, and watch boxing.
''I've dealt with
issues that are important to Nevada,'' he said, citing
renewable energy, water, agriculture, and nuclear waste.
On the war in
Iraq, Richardson said the amendment his chief rival, Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, is pushing in order to
deauthorize the war is one he's advocated since
January.
Richardson said
he's been steadfast in his opinion that all U.S.
troops--including ''residual troops''--should be
pulled out by the end of the year.
''The Iraqi war
policy is collapsing, and our troops are at risk. They
have become targets,'' he said.
Richardson said
he favors a diplomatic initiative aimed at producing
reconciliation talks among the three groups in Iraq toward a
''partition of Iraq and a coalition government'' with
an all-Muslim peacekeeping force. (Scott Sonner, AP)
