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.

Domestic policy initiatives that Bradley led or was associated with included reform of child support enforcement; legislation concerning lead-related children's health problems; the Earned Income Tax Credit; campaign finance reform; a re-apportioning of California water rights; and federal budget reform to reduce the deficit which included in 1981 supporting Reagan's spending cuts but opposing his parallel tax cut package one of only three senators to take this position. Professional
Bradley's graduation year 1965 was the last year that the NBA's territorial rule was in effect which gave professional teams first rights to draft players who attended college within 50 miles of the team. After politics
Later in 2000 Bradley was offered the chairmanship of the United States Olympic Committee which he turned down.

He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election. He was offered 75 college scholarships but declined them all to attend Princeton University. While at Oxford Bradley played one season of professional basketball in Europe and eventually decided to join the New York Knicks in the 1967–68 season after serving six months in the Air Force Reserve.