Special to the Town Crier
Bill Bradley earned his reputation for hard work, intelligence, candor, courage and vision, but what the audience wanted to hear in Flint Center, Oct. 23, was an answer to whether he will run for the presidency.
"I will make up my mind by the end of this year," Bradley said. "Anyone who runs must understand the country and its rhythm. (He) must understand foreign policy, be able to put a team together and communicate to a lot of different people in different places. Most important, I have to believe whether it's time when I can shape the country for the people. And, my wife and I have to decide whether we want to open our lives to the media and jump off a 50-story building."
Speaking on his topic "America - The Path Ahead," Bradley discussed his 18 years in the U.S. Senate, during which he worked to promote economic growth, foster racial healing and rethink America's role in the world.
"As a senator, you have to scream and yell for your state," Bradley said. "It's a human institution and the senators aren't always the brightest and some are not as bright as the people they represent."
He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978 and reelected in 1984 and 1990. During his Senate years, he served on the Finance Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and for eight years, on the Special Committee on Intelligence.
After completing his third term, he decided not to run, deciding instead to concentrate on other issues, including campaign financial reform.
His life has criss-crossed as a basketball player at Princeton University and the New York Knicks and as a politician, but he spoke little about basketball, other than mentioning that John Havlicek guarded him better than any other NBA player.
Speaking on democracy, Bradley said that there is too much money in politics.
He said democracy is paralyzed because politicians are controlled by special interests who give them money.
Citing examples, Bradley said lobbyists for big corporate contributors sit in the offices of congressional leaders and write the legislation to repeal a century's worth of environmental protections: new members of the congressional majority, while billing themselves as reformers, collect, on average, more than $60,000 from Washington-based political action committees in the first six months in office.
"We need three things to happen before we have financial reform," Bradley said. "We need a grass roots movement, business leaders to realize the problem and a president who can see this is a big issue."
In closing, Bradley believes American leadership in the future will depend on the country"s economic competitiveness, values and prudent use of military might. He considers building a bridge between peoples and spreading the values of democracy to be the best way to build lasting security.