Former senator and basketball star promotes new book
By: Courtney Gross
He is long past being a presidential candidate, U.S. senator from New Jersey and star forward for the New York Knicks and the Princeton University Tigers.
Bill Bradley’s roles these days are citizen and author. In a homecoming stop of sorts this week, he said he is taking a shot at rekindling the dormant idealism in American politics.
Mr. Bradley appeared at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in the MarketFair shopping center on Wednesday night to discuss and promote his sixth book, "The New American Story," an agenda for average citizens pursuing ideals and solutions.
"The new story is really the old story," Mr. Bradley explained. "The story of our founders life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
The 6-foot-5-inch former senator told a standing-room-only crowd that fixing the nation’s problems would take tough choices that included tax hikes and spending cuts. It is a task requiring honesty and ambition, which could put the United States back into a "can-do" mode, he said.
Having removed all political hats since his run for presidency in 2000, Mr. Bradley said he felt a "citizenship responsibility" to tackle the somewhat taboo topics in his new book. From solutions for Social Security to the application of universal health care, "The New American Story" proposes specific answers to the nation’s current crises.
The book’s proposals include lifting the country’s educational standard to that of China and our fuel efficiency to that of Europe.
"It’s not written for the political class," Mr. Bradley said. "It’s written for citizens. I hope it can awaken in them their feeling that they can control their own destiny."
For dozens of attendees at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday, that’s exactly what it did.
"He’s got some interesting ideas," Princeton resident Philip Lian said while standing in line to get a book signed by the former senator. "It’s refreshing to hear what he has to say. He’s free to speak his mind."
It’s been more than 40 years since he led the Princeton University basketball team to the NCAA tournament’s final four and some attendees Wednesday were still reminiscing about the Olympic gold medallist’s athletic abilities, rather than his political pursuits.
Carrying an envelope signed by the basketball star during his last game at the university with the hope of getting a fresh autograph, Princeton residents Ruth and William Besser said they followed his career even after he left Princeton University’s Dillon Gym.
"When he was on the team," Ms. Besser said, "you couldn’t get a ticket."
Some, however, said they wished Mr. Bradley would make another run for the Oval Office.
"Right now I think we need minds such as his," said Princeton resident Rose Scott. "Too bad he’s not running for president."
Mr. Bradley said he is not a candidate nor does he intend to be. Currently, he is a managing director at Allen & Co. in New York City.
Mr. Bradley also declined to play favorites among the current candidates for president, explaining he likes many of them, both Republicans and Democrats.
Part of the problem with American politics, Mr. Bradley said, is its polarization of ideas and extremism. The biggest lie perpetuated by Washington, he said, is that all Americans are on opposing sides, battling from either red or blue states.
"We’re not red and blue. We’re red, white and blue," Mr. Bradley said. "All Americans want a good life. They want a good family. … Americans share a lot more in common than the political leaders would allow us to believe."
"The New American Story" is intended to inspire that connection and reinvigorate citizens in the political process, he said. The former senator even suggests moving Election Day to the weekend to accommodate the typical working family.
By concentrating on consensus rather than division, the nation’s story could progress the way it was intended to, he said.
"We’ll never fulfill the dreams of our founding fathers," Mr. Bradley said. "But, we’ll come close."

