In an exclusive interview with The Daily Princetonian, Bill Bradley '65 looks ahead

Bill Bradley '65 is at the crossroads of a journey — defeated in the Democratic presidential primary last spring and now set to shift in a new direction. And in an interview Thursday with The Daily Princetonian, he talked of where this journey might take him next.

Bradley has just published his third book, titled "The Journey from Here," in which he sets forth his vision for America in the coming years — starting from today's prosperity and moving toward a new plane of equality, democracy and idealism.

On his personal journey, the famed Princetonian has wandered his way through several different worlds in 57 years, making strides in academia, at Princeton and as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford; in professional sports, as a star player for the New York Knicks; and in politics, with an 18-year career in the U.S. Senate.

Now, he said, it seems the private sector is the logical next step. Busy with publicity for the book — which was released Oct. 3 — and with campaigning for Democrats nationwide, the former New Jersey senator is also weighing options for his next project, which he said will be "doing something in the private sector that also has tremendous social value."

During the interview, Bradley spoke of his own life with the same seriousness and plodding prose that characterized his campaign demeanor, which at the time prompted many to call him boring or to liken him to a textbook. Laughs and jokes were few and far between, and his personality seemed muted beneath his intelligent and carefully considered views.

What did shine through, however, was the idealism and optimism that has both attracted like-minded supporters and prompted the criticism of skeptics. Outlining his desire to bring the same dedication to public service that he says has driven his political career to his newest ventures in the business world, Bradley said, "I was in the public sector to change the world, so if I go to the private sector I want to change the world there."

The vehicle for such ideals may be a young company, U. Promise, that Bradley says will "revolutionize the way that we save and pay for college education."

U. Promise works with large companies to establish rebate programs, whereby customers can direct a percentage of the money they spend on the company's products to tax-exempt college accounts. Any number of relatives or friends can contribute to the professionally managed accounts at participating companies.

Bradley has also targeted another of his defining issues — race relations — and agreed to chair a program started by Anti-Defamation League and Barnes & Noble called "Close the Book on Hate."

"It's a campaign to reduce racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia in America," he explained.

As a senator, Bradley was widely considered among the politicians most committed to civil rights and equality issues. He has often spoken on race relations in the United States and discusses them at length in his book.

Bradley said he will also be "looking for other things to do." Serving as president of the University, however, will not be one of those things. Laughing a bit at the suggestion, Bradley pointed out that he serves as a University trustee and does not have a Ph.D., thus making him essentially ineligible. And even if the presidential search committee were willing to bend the rules, he said, he would not consider the position.

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He also does not plan to take a post in a Gore administration, should the vice president win in November, but said he has not ruled out a future return to public life.

And another run for the presidency? "I think that Al Gore will win in November and be reelected four years from now. Eight years is a long time away," he said, brushing aside a question he certainly has been asked many times since his failed run.

Rick Wright '64, a teammate of Bradley's at Princeton who served as his director of finance for the campaign and is one of only three people still working for Bradley now, said that the former candidate is "very excited" about his new ventures.

"He hasn't slowed down a bit," Wright said, adding that Bradley still has the same driven attitude that turned heads in the college basketball world.

"The Journey From Here" in many ways serves as a transition between the presidential campaign and the rest of his life.

Bradley cited three reasons for writing the book: first, to "give voters a context to make their decision in November" by discussing the issues he thinks are important; second, as a way to thank his campaign supporters; and third, "to try to shape the . . . agenda of the next administration."

In a sense, the book closes this chapter of Bradley's political career and begins his new mission — to impact the public agenda through private channels.