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March 21, 2008

Bill Bradley on "Hannity & Colmes"

Hannity & Colmes

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN BILL BRADLEY, AUTHOR: Has a much stronger chance of beating John McCain in the general election. I think Hillary is flawed in many ways, and particularly if you look at her husband's unwillingness to release the names of the people who contributed to his presidential library. And the reason that's important, are there favors attached to 500,000 or-million-dollar contributions? What do I mean by favors? I mean pardons that are granted, investigations that are squelched, contracts that are awarded, regulations that are delayed...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now, that was Senator Bill Bradley just a few weeks ago on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer. Joining us now is the author of The New American Story, a Barack Obama supporter; Senator Bill Bradley is back with us.

Senator, good to see you and thanks for being with us.

BRADLEY: Hey Sean. Hey Susan.

ESTRICH: Hi Bill.

HANNITY: I may surprise you, Senator, I agree. We've gotten some details, some documents, but the Clintons have been very unwilling to release pertinent information that I think would either corroborate or contradict statements that Hillary has made about her experience. Why won't the press push harder?

BRADLEY: Well, I don't know. We really don't know until the documents are released. And, you know, I look at that interview, I realize that I shouldn't have worn just the sweater, I should have had a coat on and other than that, I think that we don't want this to explode in the general election campaign.

I think that by having full disclosure, that's what's important. I think Barack Obama has revealed his income tax returns for eight years, revealed all his earmarks, revealed fact after fact after fact. And I think that we need, because of the role the former president's played in the campaign and will play in an administration, we need those facts.

HANNITY: Yeah. I agree with you. I believe in full disclosure and I think that the Clintons, in that sense, have gotten away with not providing that for everybody, here. Obviously, we can't talk about the controversy now that's gone on a full week with Senator Obama and his pastor, Jeremiah Wright and another state senator who's also a pastor and all these controversial remarks. Senator, look, I don't agree with Hillary or Barack Obama. But I thought that Barack Obama was doing better in the campaign because I thought he was just very skilled politician and, likability was the issue for me. I thought he came off as a very likeable person. And I think that was resonating with the American people.

When they hear his associations with his pastor of 20 years, it has shocked the conscience, as evidenced by the polls, of the American people. Is that fair or unfair?

BRADLEY: Well, I think the first point to be made is Barack Obama is the one running for president, not Reverend Wright.

HANNITY: But, this friend of 20 years.

BRADLEY: And there is nothing in Barack Obama's life, in his record, in his public utterances that would indicate he had sympathy for any of the outrageous statements that were made by Reverend Wright. And, in fact, he has condemned them and I think the issue, and after his speech the other day in which he laid a real context for thinking about race in America and challenging each of us to think it through ourselves, I think that this issue will be behind him.

ESTRICH: Senator Bradley, Bill, I'm getting a lot of e-mails from conservatives, because I wrote a really nice column about Barack Obama's speech on race and I have been inundated with e-mails from conservatives saying to me, look, here's the guy who, when he was in Chicago, went after Trent Lott for saying something nice about Strom Thurman who had done bad things many years ago. He wanted Lott's head; he called for the Republicans to kill Trent Lott. Why are people like you and I applying a double standard, here? Why aren't we calling for Barack Obama's head for being associated with Minister Farrakhan and then with Reverend Wright? I mean, what's the answer to those folks?

BRADLEY: Well, I think the answer is because Reverend Wright didn't run for president and win four states and wasn't a sitting United States senator. I mean, that's the difference.

I mean, you know, the question that Barack raised I think is a really legitimate question. I boil it down to when was the last time you talked about race with somebody of another race and had a very candid conversation about black anger and white resentment? And, to me, that's really what he offered the other day. And as I heard him speak, I thought about the speeches that I have made over the years about race in America.

And in one in particular, in which I recall I had an aunt who used derogatory racial terms. It hurt me deeply. And I talked about that in the speech at one point, just like I talked about his grandmother. And I finished the speech, and at that time I had a black press secretary, and he came up to me and he said, you know, I have an aunt like that, too. Meaning that what goes on in black households and white households has to be brought out and a dialogue take place. And I think that's what he asked us to do.

The second thing he asked us to do is to not go with the easy racial arguments or stereotypes and divert from attention on those things which affect all Americans, such as the need for healthcare, the need for public schools to be great, the need for everybody who has ability to have a chance to go to college and the need to, if you work 40 years, to have a secure pension.

ESTRICH: Thank you Senator Bradley...

BRADLEY: Those are issues that affect everybody.

ESTRICH: I agree with you. We'll get into later whether your aunt is the same as your pastor, but I thank you and appreciate you coming on.

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