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Bill Bradley: Achingly funny and profound
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July 23, 1999 |
Talk around me centered -- appropriately enough -- on Bradley's surprisingly
successful grass-roots fund-raising efforts. ("The Web site got a mention on Leno,
and the next morning $16,000 in small contributions came in," chortled the sizable
fellow, at least as big around as Bradley is tall, next to me.) The campaign war
story swapping paused for a brief round of polite applause when Bradley entered the room (nothing as rousing as the "Go, Pat, go" reception of a few months ago, I'm afraid). Looking tall, tanned and majorly mellow, the
former senator, pro basketball player and -- I believe I'm legally required to
mention this -- Princeton grad and Rhodes scholar warmly greeted those brave
enough to approach, including a couple of sweetly star-struck little boys, and
picked daintily at his salad. (Next time I forego the luncheon fare for a bird's-eye
view, remind me to bring a turkey drumstick, will ya?) By the time C-Span's cameras set to rolling and Bradley was introduced as
someone all politicians look up to (har-har), it was standing-room-only even in the
gallery, a fact that wasn't lost on our man from New Jersey by way of Missouri.
"Jesse Ventura was the last person here to draw this kind of crowd,"
wryly observed the former senator. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment." Bradley dished out a little hard-won sports wisdom -- a historic botched
shot will always remind him "when things are going real well, remember there are
times when they don't" (that's deep, Bill, very deep) -- before tucking into a speech that
seemed to go on longer than a lengthy final quarter of an NBA game. The audience
sat rapt and silent as Bradley mused about big money vs. the little guy, rustling only
a little when the former senator alluded to the evil residual effects of Newt
Gingrich's corrosive nastiness. Amy Reiter Amy Reiter's column appears daily on the People site, Monday through Friday.
Got a hot tip? Tell Amy! But things didn't heat up much until the question and answer session. Would Bradley consider being Al Gore's running mate in 2000? "No." What about Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson's allegations that Bradley's a big hypocrite who has always milked the system for all its worth? "Sounds very much like something the chairman of the Republican National Committee would say." If he had been president these last four years, what would he have done differently? [Laughter] "I don't really think I have to answer that." [More laughter.] Man! Such a sage, carefully scripted candidate is enough to make a dish-lovin' gal long for the old MTV-gets-out-the-vote days of "Boxers or briefs?" To which, according to an old 1996 campaign joke well worth reviving, oldster Bob Dole answered, "Depends." - - - - - - - - - - - - Trump Daddy in Chief? Between hourly dispatches from the Republican National Committee, my fax machine has just spat out this little political tidbit: A voter survey conducted by that most august political publication, the National Enquirer (move over, New Republic and Weekly Standard), has found that Donald "Trump Daddy" Trump would trounce Veep Al Gore and nip at the heels of Georgieboy Bush in a three-way race. The Enquirer claims its tally (the survey's methods and scope were not disclosed -- for all we know, they contacted only voters looking for an in on some prime New York real estate) -- Bush, 39 percent; Trump, 37 percent; Gore, 24 percent -- supports a recent classic Trump Daddy boast, "If the Reform Party nominated me, I would probably run and probably win." Guess the Reform Party Convention in Dearborn, Mich., this weekend will tell the
tale, but I gotta say, I'd pay good money to watch the Donald jump into a ring to
wrestle it out with Reform grapplers Jesse Ventura and Ross Perot. I can
hear the color commentary now: "It looks like The Donald is going at the Body
and All Ears with -- is it? It is! Marla Maples' shoe!"
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