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Monday, January 24, 2000

Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) served in Congress with former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley and is one of a handful of Capitol Hill legislators to not endorse Vice President Gore's candidacy. Kerrey is on the road with the Bradley campaign in Iowa.

A popular and well-respected figure in Washington, Kerrey announced last week that he will not seek reelection this fall. Bradley has changed the dynamic of the 2000 presidential race by mounting a serious challenge to Vice President Gore for the Democratic nomination. Over the course of the last few months, both Bradley and Gore have waged an intellectual, and sometimes testy, debate on campaign issues. The transcript of today's discussion with Sen. Kerrey follows:

Free Media: Good afternoon, Sen. Kerrey, and welcome. Your reputation as an independent thinker is certainly upheld by your choice to support Bill Bradley in the presidential race. What went into your decision to not endorse your party's sitting vice president?

Sen. Bob Kerrey: Bill Bradley is the most uncorruptable man I've ever met. He has the honesty, the integrity and the trust that we need to get campaign-finance reform, health-care reform and gun control. People are losing faith in politicians because all they see is spin. Bill Bradley is the kind of person that we need for young people to understand that government by the people, of the people, and for the people is still alive and well. What Bill says is that an awful lot of people have reached the conclusion that all we can accomplish are small things; that we can't challenge the American people to do something big. He believes we can challenge them, and I agree with him. What it takes is a leader that the people trust saying something not because it's a political tactic, but because he believes it.

Alexandria, Va.: In light of Vice President Gore's questionable fundraising methods, compared to the relative lack of "dirt" on Bradley, do you believe that Bill Bradley possesses more integrity than the Vice President? Thank you.

Sen. Bob Kerrey: This is not a qualitiative analysis. I believe the vice president has a lot of integrity. It's about perception, and when the vice president defended soliciting money from foreign nationals, inviting agents of foreign governments to the White House for coffees, and giving the impression that national security wasn't as important as raising money for the campaign, when he rationalized by saying that there's no controlling legal authority that prevented it, he left the impression that that was the guide for making decisions. And there's no question that if he's the nominee of our party, we're going to hear a lot about it in the fall election. Bradley's life and campaign are about doing what you believe is right. There's a higher law that you seek when you figure out what it is that you're going to do.

Bainbridge Island, Wash.: Senator Kerrey: As a college student, I have seen first hand the apathy of young, prospective voters today. Various reports have come out concluding that although students today particpate more in community service, they do not register to vote. After serving our country for so long, do you see this as a threat to American democracy? How would you curb the problem?

Sen. Bob Kerrey: I'm encouraged by the number of young people involved in all of these campaigns. But I do think that young and old alike are turning off to politics. It's a threat to democracy in the United States, but worse, it undercuts our movement to continue democracy in other nations. Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy. Corruption is much more of a threat to democracy than a dictator.

Washington, D.C.: In a recent Newsweek article, George Will concluded that Senator Bradley "is trying to be nominated without much help from two substantial portions of the base of the Democratic Party -- African-Americans and organized labor." How do you propose that Sen. Bradley overcome these obstacles and make it known, especially to African-Americans, that he supports their cause?

Sen. Bob Kerrey: Bill Bradley is a different kind of politician. He's not out there trying to build bases with various constituencies. He appeals to African-Americans, he appeals to organized labor, he appeals to all kinds of people. You sit in the audience and you get the impression that he does believe in the United States, and that you can't get the plurubus without the unum. If you appeal to the base, you begin to divide people -- labor against African-Americans, working people against management. He wants to unite people and appeal to all of them.

Omaha, Neb.: Why did you choose to leave the Senate? I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours and thank you for your service to Nebraksa.

Sen. Bob Kerrey: I needed to breathe a little private air. Thank you for the kind words.

Free Media: That was our last question today for Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), who is in Iowa campaigning with Bill Bradley. Thanks to Sen. Kerrey, and to everyone who joined us. Stay tuned for more caucus day programming.

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