With a new book, the former senator and basketball star takes another shot
In 1995, Bill Bradley announced his intention to retire from the U.S. Senate with the lament, “Politics is broken.”
Four years later, he began an 18-month attempt to “fix” the break by running for president, but dropped out of the race after losing the first two primaries to incumbent Vice President Al Gore. Once again, he was exasperated by the contemporary political process that “emphasizes conflict.”
Four years later, he began an 18-month attempt to “fix” the break by running for president, but dropped out of the race after losing the first two primaries to incumbent Vice President Al Gore. Once again, he was exasperated by the contemporary political process that “emphasizes conflict.”
“Compromise is out, and confrontation is in,” he said. “Never mind how the American people really feel.”
As of 2007, the former Rhodes Scholar has not yet totally thrown in the towel on public service. Bill Bradley will come to Highland Park United Methodist Church’s Cornerstone Speakers Initiative at 7 p.m. Tuesday, wearing his “concerned citizen” hat and addressing the key points in his recently released book The New American Story.
Bradley opens his new book with the semihopeful statement (in light of his 1995 Senate departure remark): “Politics is stuck [i.e., not broken] … no movement forward, no action, no change. I wrote this book in the hope it would help break this logjam.”
The New American Story has a massive scope, bringing together the author’s comprehensive vision for what it will take to unstick American politics — and doing it in only 343 pages.
Since leaving politics, Bradley has taught at Stanford, Notre Dame, and the University of Maryland, and he now serves as a managing director for the investment banking firm of Allen & Co. in New York. In the first half of the book, he brings his expertise to an analysis of today’s most important national political issues: America’s role in the world, the economy, oil and the environment, pensions, health care, and education.
With each topic, Bradley explains the conventional wisdom that justifies the Bush administration’s approach to the issue, uncovers the flaws he finds with the current strategy, and suggests what should be done differently to achieve a more satisfactory result.
Following this extensive policy-by-policy analysis, the former senator from New Jersey devotes the next 100 pages to explaining why, in his opinion, “Republicans can’t” and “Democrats don’t” follow his game plan for moving out of government inertia. He concludes the book by pointing out what citizens must do to motivate their elected officials to execute the strategies of his “story.”
Certainly, those who support President Bush’s policies on these crucial issues will not be pleased by Bradley’s assessments, and it is ironic that the April 24 lecture will be delivered in the amphitheater of the President’s former home church.
But regardless of the disagreements one may have with his arguments, Bradley delivers his analyses and conclusions in a well-organized, tightly worded assessment, making for a smooth read.
What drives a 63-year-old man who has abandoned his once-sizable political ambitions to now research and write a book about what needs to be done in order to get the American train back on the tracks?
In his Basketball Hall of Fame athletic career, Bill Bradley had a higher shooting percentage than almost anyone. He calls his new book his “best shot” at fulfilling his responsibilities as a citizen.
The public is invited to attend the lecture next Tuesday night, which has no cost of admission, and determine for itself whether Bradley’s best shot results in a score.