governor, bill richardson is getting ready to leave office. he's done at the end of the year. even though he's been very busy lately---just retuing from a trip to north korea on tuesday night---richardson agreed to sit down with me and talk about his time as governor---his life on the international stage---- and what's next for him. 22:11:20 what is it like to be the american the north koreans seem to trust the most? it's not something i'd campaign on as a politician. i've always thought you have to talk to your enemies. that you make agreements with your enemies not your friends. that it makes no sense to isolate anybody. 22 11 40 in many ways---richardson is the anti-north korea. he's engaging---he's a talker---and he's fond of good publicity-- but he says it's probably time for a change.. bite---22 31 12 "i think i need a break and people need a break from me too" 22 31 16 when asked what kind of grade he'd give himself as governor, richardson quickly says bite---22 19 56 "i'll give myself an a, i will" ...and then rattles off the reasons. 22 14 56 we'll players now on the national scene, we weren't players before 22 15 15 we have 140 films we've brought in in the last 8 years 22 15 29 the spaceport 100's of construction jobs 22 15 36 renewable energy. new companies coming in. schott solar 22 15 43 dwi's 35 percent less fatalities progress can be costly---but richardson bristles at the idea his administration drove the state into the poor house. 22 18 32 our state is in good financial shape to recover, it was a national economy problem. it was a national wave of recession. it wasn't the steps we took here 22 18 41 about 6 months before the recession hit---richardson was flng high----with an approval rating around 70 percent. in may of 2007, he became the first hispanic democrat to run for his party's nomination for presdient. he was out about 6 months later. 22 23 45 i like to tell people i had two problems in presidential race barack obama and hillary clinton i worked hard but it wasn't my time. i realized that they didn't want someone with a resume experience. the american people wanted someone like president obama who could inspire and talk about unity. i was short on that i realize that 22 24 06 richardson ended up up endorsing barack obama---and when obama won---he offered richardson the commerce secretary job. but a month later, richardson withdrew his nomination because of an investigation into improper business dealings. 22 17 07 the reality is there was no pay to play. the reality is no one has been charged with anything 22 17 15 richardson says dealing with the allegations---and losing the cabinet job---was a low point for him. 22 28 02 was that a big blow to you? yah, it hurt, yes it hurt i had always been confirmed by us senate. i had two cabinet positions so yes i was disappointed 22 28 13 but he says he got over it---got to serve 3 more years as governor---and is now ready to try something new. 22 28 51 we've heard all kinds of rumors about what you're going to do when you leave office do you know yes, i kind of know one i'm going to stay inm and sf 22 29 00 22 29 23 i'm going to set up an institute. this is what i'm really into on foreign policy on peace-making, on rescuing hostages. so with 8 years as governor under his belt---richardson has just a few more days until his successor--the state's first female governor---a republican---takes over. 22 32 49 you told us when you leave you're going to leave a note in your desk for susana martinez any idea what that's going to say? is it a long note. it'll be a couple of pages. a couple of pages about what he learned as governor. bite----22 34 37 "i learned i could take some big shots, heavy blows and continue the job i was elected to do. you also learn you can't trust everybody. sometimes maybe i was too trustworthy. you also learn you're not perfect.
