Bill Bradley Quotations

Leadership is unlocking people's potential to become better.

Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.

For a long time, I operated under the Chinese proverb that there are four kinds of leaders: those who you laugh at, those who you hate, those who you love and those who you don't even know that they're leaders.

The only way to be true to our American tradition is to maintain absolute governmental neutrality regarding religious beliefs and practices

Trying to take money out of politics is like trying to take jumping out of basketball.

The taste of defeat has a richness of experience all its own.

Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one.

Imagination allows us to escape the predictable. It enables us to reply to the common wisdom that we cannot soar by saying, 'Just watch!'

Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models.

There has never been a great athlete who died not knowing what pain is.

Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think this is why the environment has to be preserved.

When you make speeches you elicit expectations against which you will be held accountable.

Al Gore clearly has the vision... it's a much better vision than that of George W. Bush.

We're going to have two debates in Iowa in January, ... You can't have a debate in Iowa without agriculture being a major part of it. So we're going to debate agriculture in Iowa.

Yes, I went to the House of Justice in Harlem, last summer to a community meeting that Rev. Sharpton invited me to attend,

The fact is that (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) has the capacity now, in OPEC, to reduce production, which increases (the price of oil). That means that prices for New Hampshire residents for home heating oil go up,

There is a lot of enthusiasm out there for the candidacy,

There is no doubt in my mind that could happen, and if I were president, I would work hard to try and make that happen,

What I am proposing today will not by itself change the culture that has produced what is perhaps the most intractable American problem this century. The programs outlined are only a start,

like ants in the kitchen - without closing all the holes, there is always a way in.

Let me get right to the point -- we're all here to elect the next president of the United States, Al Gore,

Let me assure you, you are going to be all right.

Lowell is a very instrumental player in health care in the United States and I think what he will have to say about health care will be very straightforward in terms of telling the truth.

Lowell has been a friend for many years. He is someone I respect. I think he is someone who is respected in American life as a stand-up guy,

Look we have taken action, but you know racial profiling practically began in New Jersey, Senator Bradley.

shows that he's man who thinks for himself, and I think that it shows that he's a man who believes I'd be the best president for this country in the next four years. That's what I believe and I'm glad we agree.

Should I demand that people in the military agree with a position? They don't have to agree with the position, they have to follow the order.

(McCain) tapped into a spirit of reform, ... It just shows how difficult it is to run against entrenched power.

occasionally picks me up in the morning and he'll have carrot juice, and I love carrot juice.

must maintain strict protection for civil rights and a clear separation of church and state.

Nobody can predict the future of a trillion dollar economy. That's why the vice president also has not ruled out the possible need for a tax increase. He and I have the same position on future taxes,

Only those who have never left Washington have missed the lessons of the last decade,

I was stunned by the verdict. It shows that racial profiling seeps so deeply in our society that a wallet in the hand of a white man looks like a wallet, and the wallet in the hand of a black man looks like a gun.

I am going to replace Medicaid with something better, ... Some 40 percent of minorities do not have coverage (under Medicaid). They would be covered.

I believe we need a new kind of leadership, a leadership that puts the people front and center, not the president.

I believe that we need a strong president that is not going to back away from affirmative action,

Certainly it's not something that I actually think about every day,

But the problems that called forth that effort have not failed and it is time to try again but in a different way.

If only, ... we had decided to skip Iowa, thus saving a couple of million dollars and keeping the focus on New Hampshire.

If only we'd supported Oregon and Arizona and other states who wanted to move their primaries up, so that we didn't have five weeks to wait after a strong showing in New Hampshire.

If only Bradley's minor heart problem hadn't surfaced just at the time of the Iowa vote, then resurfaced in the New York Times the Sunday before New Hampshire when we were coming on strong.

If only AFL-CIO President Sweeney and President Clinton hadn't persuaded the labor movement to throw its support behind Gore last October, when his campaign was floundering.

I don't think it's all locked up for Gore ... People make their own independent judgments in this matter. My approach is going right to the members.

If you are going to be president of the United States, try to do something big rather than something small,

He has misrepresented my healthcare plan time after time after time, and I called him on it,

He has evolved, ... I'm glad he has evolved.

Today, at a time of unparalleled prosperity, I look out over a nation and I see that nearly one-fifth of our children are ill-fed, ill-house, and ill-educated,

What you need for a pension fund is a steady, reliable flow of dollars well off into the future and that's what you get with trees. That's what's magic about them.

Under his leadership, we will come closer to solving the problems I mentioned earlier, and under the leadership of George W. Bush, it is not even close,

I would say quite clearly that white Americans can no longer deny the plight of black Americans,

I would simply ask Al Gore to take responsibility for his campaign and their actions, as well as his own words, ... When his campaign demeans a medal of honor winner like Bob Kerrey, there should be an apology from Al Gore.

I think (the endorsement) will send a very clear message that I belong to the people of the country, and the people will have their say,

I think that the people of Maine aren't going to listen to pollsters and pundits, ... I think they're going to vote their hearts and their convictions.

I think that any time a president lies, he undermines his own authority and squanders the people's trust.

I will fight to make sure that (privacy protection) occurs,

I will make sure that my administration reflects the diversity of the country, ... African American, Latino and Asian.

I went to hear the concerns first hand of the 600 who came there to meet me. That was a legitimate thing to do. We have to allow people the right to grow, we have to allow people the right to evolve,

I think the Saints will go over real well in San Antonio, but I'm partial to San Antonio because I think it's a wonderful place and has a lot of things to offer.

Our program would cost between $50 and $65 billion to make sure 95 percent of all Americans have health insurance. We can get this right,

Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds, ... Athletes, in times of this kind of difficulty, can be important role models.

Look, I don't think it's negative campaigning when you tell the truth about somebody's record.

. . . I think I do understand the dynamics

Tax (reform) is ultimately a decision about values.

The Boy Scouts of America stands for a set of principles. These principles have a lot of staying power. The values you learn as a Scout are like a compass. They can help you find your way through difficult and sometimes unchartered terrain. The principles of Scouting give you a sense of what's important. I feel I owe the Boy Scouts a great deal, both personally and professionally.

We need to get beyond the politics of the moment, the deficit of the hour, the military count of the day, the numbers that rarely shape events. Our long-term interests must be in people and in the values of democracy and individual liberty.

How should we Democrats select the next presidential nominee? Smoke filled rooms? Brokered convention? National primary? Personally, I prefer jump shots from the top of the key.

Basketball can serve as a kind of metaphor for ultimate cooperation. It is a sport where success, as symbolized by the championship, requires that the dictates of community prevail over selfish impulses.

People tell me, "I'm glad you said that." But this is not a spectator sport. This is an activity that requires daily moral awakening as well as a commitment that leads to real change.

When the playing is over, one can sense that one's youth has been spent playing a game, and now both the game and youth are gone.

We have to repair that trust ... I think anytime a public official lies, he undermines his own authority and squanders the public trust.

Working with the UN's diplomacy and development arms, we can prevent minor differences from escalating into wars. When conflicts do break out, UN peacekeepers should play a role in defusing and settling them. Without giving up our sovereignty, we can help the UN with better training and better command and control in order to develop more effective peacekeeping forces.

The UN is committed to the goal of ensuring that all nations share in economic, social, & scientific progress. It delivers humanitarian assistance to the victims of wars and natural disasters.

A good coach must celebrate in private. He cannot gloat to the press after a victory or criticize heavily after defeat... His game is of such motivation and strategy that only a few people understand his craft.

I like the rough impersonality of New York ... Human relations are oiled by jokes, complaints, and confessions-all made with the assumption of never seeing the other person again.

Mark Twain put it best when he said, 'Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated,.

Give to another human being without the expectation of a return.

Some people say we can never achieve our special destiny, but I say, in a world of new possibilities guided by goodness, we can and we will.

We realized that no one of us could be as good as all of us playing unselfishly.

Leaders should be collaborative, modest, and generous

I think the political process has degenerated into name-calling and extremism, and I think that that's unfortunate.

Leadership is not something that is done to people, like fixing your teeth. Leadership is unlocking people's potential to become better.

I might lose because I wasn't tall enough; I might lose because I wasn't fast enough. But I wasn't going to lose because I wasn't ready.

Behind all the years of practice and all the hours of glory waits that inexorable terror of living without the game.

The point of the game is not how well the individual does, but whether the team wins. That's the beautiful heart of the game, the blending of personalities, the mutual sacrifices for the group success.

A lot of people want to change the world, but only a few people want to change themselves. When it comes to the issue of race in America, we have to do both.

When you're not practicing, someone somewhere is. And when the two of you meet, assuming roughly equal ability, the other person will win.

Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it. No destructive lies. No ridiculous fears. No debilitating anger.

That was a tragedy but what it said to me was that the real tragedy was how deeply racial profiling had seeped into the police department.

That (strategy) was not in conflict with the way I have run my campaign, ... It shows respect for the voters, to point out that something is untrue.

My case to labor is that I respect them and I respect their role in getting a higher standard of living for people in this country. I was a labor leader myself, and my wife is a labor union member.

You have to face up to this if you're going to be a strong leader,

We each (China and the United States) believe we are the center of the universe, so naturally we are going to bump up against each other,

You have said that I am going to destroy Medicaid without saying what I plan to replace it with. (Your assertions) that my plan would hurt African Americans and Latinos have offended me,

What we have to do is allow the people to set the agenda for this country and not the special interests through campaign finance reform,

What you see is what I call an elaborate Gore dance,

We are not going to turn our eyes away from what is happening in Grozny tonight,

There are issues such as what are we going to do with this enormous (budget) surplus that we have. I think Al Gore clearly has the vision of what to do with that. It's a much better vision than that of George W. Bush,

There are independents ... who make their judgments at any particular moment based on how they feel and where they think the country is headed,

When you are in the public, you can't act as if you are private. You are only private when the door shuts behind you.

But my convictions of where we are as a country and where we can go are so deep that I made the decision to take on the establishment and run.