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"He's going to have to hit a sitting jump shot" | page 1, 2
You know -- and I'm sure you've heard Bradley tell this story -- but Einstein, he gave a test one year at Princeton, and a student said, "Professor Einstein, the questions on this exam are the same from last year's." And Einstein said, "That's true, but the answers are different." And there's a lot to that today. A lot of the answers are different. And Bradley has the answers? The two biggest challenges facing us are Russia and race, and he knows them both cold. But you don't really think he has a chance at winning the nomination, do you? I like horse racing. I like going to the track. Sometimes you bet on a horse that's got 2- or 3-to-1 odds; sometimes on one that's 23 to 1. But it's going to be tough for him to achieve. Oh, he's going to have to hit a sitting jump shot. Has any incumbent VP ever not gotten his party's nomination in such circumstances? No, not that I know of, but, you know, before '92 it had never happened that we elected a president who was governor of Arkansas. There's always going to be precedents. And you honestly think that this could be one of them. Absolutely. I believe we can get the 2,142 delegates, which is what we need to win the nomination. I believe we can get there. And I know Bill Bradley will make every effort to get there -- without ruining Al Gore's chances in the general election. Have you seen Bradley on the stump at all? Have you noticed an improvement in his much-maligned campaigning skills? Oh, yeah, he's better than he used to be. Definitely. He seems to me to be connecting to the audience. I was just with him in Omaha and in Des Moines, and there were rounds of applause, they liked what he said, and they seemed to be following what he said. You and Bradley are similar in a lot of ways, no? You're both quixotic intellectuals, both media darlings ... I don't know about that; Bill and I are different in some very significant ways. I'm much more of a legislator. I'm more interested in trying to get better at being a legislator. And I'm proud of the fact that I'm learning to be a good legislator. How about Bradley and Gore? How are they different? Or better yet -- how are they similar? Both of them are free-traders, they're not populists on trade, which induces heartburn in the heart of our party, which is organized labor. They both also tend to pick issues that are kind of intellectual. Bill causes the audience to wonder what exactly he's talking about when he starts discussing petroleum reserves ... Gore did it with the Internet. How'd you break the news to the Gore folks that you weren't going to be on their team, at least initially? Well, I called the VP and I told him. Same with [campaign manager Tony] Coelho. I said, "If you win, which I expect will happen, sign me up as a volunteer." And they were cool about it? I wouldn't say they were cool about it. They were certainly understanding.
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