"Unsolicited Advice: Reinventing America" Column

New Mexico’s Gov. Bill Richardson is seeking the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. He is trailing in the polls and is ranked fourth after New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. But pundits say that in the final analysis, Governor Richardson will make a very credible run in the primary contests. As the first Hispanic-American leader to seek the Oval Office, he is in a very good position to be offered the vice-presidential slot if he does not win outright the top plum.

Pundits also say that foreign policy will drive the 2008 presidential race. Yes, the issues of Iraq, Afghanistan and international terrorism will be crucial, if not dominant, topics during the 2008 presidential debates.

Foreign policy is where Governor Richardson comes in strong and credible. He was the American ambassador to the United Nations from 1997-1998. No other presidential aspirant has been a diplomat.

Governor Richardson is also the only presidential aspirant who nearly became a professional baseball player. In fact, Luke Meredith of the Associated Press wrote about Mr. Richardson’s connection to America’s pastime, both as "a lifelong baseball fan and a player in his youth." To read Mr. Meredith’s article, "Richardson Tours 'Field of Dreams' Site," please go to http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/richardson-tours-field-of-dreams-site/20070711162009990002

Mr. Meredith wrote: "Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, took a swing by the ‘Field of Dreams’ movie site in Dyersville, Iowa . . . The film centered on an Iowa farmer who plowed through a corn field and built a baseball diamond that somehow draws ‘Shoeless’ Joe, a player besmirched by a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series."

Now, let this column connect Mr. Richardson’s passion in and of baseball to foreign policy. Remember then President Richard Nixon’s "Ping Pong" Diplomacy that started the dismantling of the "Bamboo Curtain" and made the Chinese the unofficial allies of the United States in the Cold War against the Soviet Union?

What if Mr. Richardson were to present to America, and more especially to the people of Iowa, a "Baseball" Diplomacy that would "reinvent" the country’s foreign policy?

Here is how Mr. Richardson can dominate the campaign issue of foreign policy. The United States is losing a lot of support the world over because in fighting international terrorism, American policymakers and decision makers have opted to send abroad military advisers, special-forces scouts, military hardware and in Iraq and Afghanistan, tens of thousands of soldiers to fight the terrorists. What if Governor Richardson were to bat (pun intended) for a "Baseball" Diplomacy that would instead send abroad baseball scouts instead of army scouts and rangers?

Right now, American Major-League teams are sending scouts and representatives to countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Asia to look for the Third World’s versions of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and other baseball greats. America is looking for the next Roberto Clemente and more of him and his passion for baseball and charitable works.

This writer started a Filipino version of "Baseball Renaissance" by organizing a Filipino-American Community Night at the Dodger Stadium on July 24, 2006. We followed it with the Second Fil-Am Community Day at the Dodgers last July 1, 2007. Yes, American soldiers and bureaucrats introduced baseball to the Philippines in 1899 and Filipino players dominated baseball in the Far East in the 1920s and 1930s. Baseball is one of the few sports that small people like Filipinos can excel in because it does not require players to be giants like the NBA wizards in basketball, which is now the craze in the Philippines. Yes, the world needs not only a baseball renaissance but also the development of it in Africa and other soccer-crazy continents.

What if Mr. Richardson can champion a "Baseball" Diplomacy, where instead of building overseas military camps and prisons, the United States were to build "fields of dreams" and baseball infrastructures? What if Mr. Richardson were to promote American aid that would consist of baseball bats and paraphernalia, instead of Armalites and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers? What if Governor Richardson were to propose that the "fields of dreams" were to be constructed adjacent to corn fields – just like in that movie scene in Dyersville, Iowa – and grow lots of it to produce ethanol and help the Third World solve the problem of producing indigenous fuel? Corn also can be turned into cereals that can feed the malnourished children of the Third World.

Talking of non-fossil fuels like ethanol, etc., Governor Richardson has also the right background as he was the U.S. Secretary of Energy from 1998-2001. What if he calls it now the "Baseball and Corn-Field" Diplomacy? Perhaps the whole world can profit more with a Richardson presidency where the United States generates tons and tons of goodwill by promoting baseball, corn and ethanol production as the tools of American diplomacy. What if a lot of countries were to sing "Take me out to the ballgame . . ." instead of shouting, "Yankees go home . . ." and other anti-American slogans? Even Fidel Castro of Cuba loves baseball and he would probably welcome with open heart and gloves a President Richardson’s "Baseball Diplomacy."

Perhaps, Governor Richardson and his campaign staff will listen to this unsolicited advice. Because Iowa not only has the first caucuses for the 2008 presidential selection process but it also produces tons and tons of corn. Perhaps Iowans and all the farming folks in the Midwest can be motivated by a President Richardson to help the United States turn vast agricultural areas in the Third World into corn fields that can fuel ethanol plants and of course fields of dreams. Then all the political pundits would probably predict that Bill Richardson would hit not a mere homerun in the Iowa caucuses but a grand slam. Wow!

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