Word: bradleys
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Finally it is Bradley's turn to speak. Back in control, he relaxes; surrounded by supporters, relatives and old buddies, he tells a story about being alone. "I cannot tell you how many hours I spent in this space," he says, looking around the gym. "After one night when we lost, early the next morning I was back." He'd come by himself to work on his shooting. "The bleachers were still pulled out, there were popcorn boxes on the floor, and I felt I was home--in the place I spent more time than any other...
...happy? Tell me your story. It was a way to learn about the world, a way to come out of his shell, a way to build his network of elite supporters. "One of the first things he did was ask me about my life," says John Roos, a Bradley fund raiser and partner at a powerful Silicon Valley law firm. "Who I was, what I thought was important. I was extremely surprised...
...flattered. The Bradley network is full of the high-profile people he has stroked and courted for decades: billionaire moneyman Herb Allen, media moguls Barry Diller and Michael Eisner, film director Sydney Pollack, Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio. They build support and raise money for Bradley, and in return he makes them feel good about themselves. Says Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz: "I just feel better for knowing him." Bradley likes to say, "This is not just a campaign, but something more"--a high-minded mission. That sounds trite, until you see it in action...
Wind chimes are tinkling in the warm night breeze, and on the wraparound porch of an old Victorian house in Des Moines, Iowa, 50 Democrats--most of them early middle-aged, well-off and politically progressive--have gathered to hear Bradley. It's September, before the pundits notice Bradley's surge, so only a few national reporters are on hand. Standing near a hanging plant, Bradley's about to begin, but something's wrong. "Do we have to have the TV on?" he asks. A crew has the camera rolling, its lights in his eyes. "I'd kind of like...
...folks shut down their rig, and Bradley starts talking. It's the best possible way to experience him. He draws the group in, using the microphone expertly, letting a rich Midwestern gruffness emerge in his voice--it's the political equivalent of a Garrison Keillor radio monologue. "There's justice that this is where the presidency begins," he says, "in a neighborhood, on a front porch, on a summer night." He likes the line so much he repeats it, rhapsodizing about "running for the highest office in the land the same way you run for mayor," and never mind that...