Hardship Tale Moves Bradley

Bill Bradley, whose presidential campaign is driven by a passionate fight for the poor, was moved to tears during a press conference Wednesday morning in which a Pelham woman described her family’s struggle to get by without health insurance for their children.

The seated candidate hung his head while he listened to Cathy Perry, 40, talk about the time her 16-year-old son apologized because she had to pay for his doctor’s visit when he got strep throat last year. Looking up, Bradley’s eyes were moist.

“Sometimes it’s important when reality enters a political campaign,” said Bradley, his voice breaking as he stood before a barrage of reporters in a Salem day care center. “Your story breaks through all of the political rhetoric to what the real circumstance is in this country for so many families. No child should have to apologize to his mother because he is sick.”

Bradley’s poignant reaction--an uncharacteristic one for the usually cerebral candidate--contrasted with recent weeks of biting back-and-forths between him and Al Gore, his rival for the Democratic nomination. It also illustrated his deep personal investment in a campaign platform that has focused on the poor.

Bradley has made access to affordable health care a centerpiece of his campaign. The issue has also been a major distinction between the two Democratic candidates, with Bradley offering a broader, more costly health plan and Gore proposing a modest step initially and further expansion in future years.

Gore has criticized Bradley’s plan as too expensive and unrealistic, whereas Bradley has accused Gore of “nibbling around the edges.”

Unlike Gore’s use of human props to illustrate his policies in recent debates, Bradley’s exchange with Perry in the Wonder Years Learning Center on Wednesday appeared genuine and unscripted. The audience, including reporters and campaign staff, was hushed as the candidate stood before the lectern trying to gather himself.

“Obviously I’m moved and people in the room are moved,” he said as 14 kindergartners sat at his feet. “It underlines the basic point, which is that we can’t afford to leave anyone behind.”

Perry said she and her husband run a household appliance repair business and have no health insurance for their four sons. Last year, she said, her oldest boy complained of a sore throat and fever. As she was paying the bill for his medication at the doctor’s office, he turned to her and said, “I’m sorry, Mom,” aware that the medical visit was an unforeseen expense.

“It seemed terrible that my son should have to consider that,” said Perry, speaking quietly, reading from handwritten notes. “We consider ourselves fortunate because our children, for the most part, are very healthy. . . . [But] we realize we are just one accident or serious illness away from devastation.”

Before Perry spoke, Mary Ruedig, a public school teacher from Concord, described how she has seen the impact on her students who have no health insurance or inadequate coverage.

Many times, Ruedig said, she has had to create beds in the back of her classroom out of coats and pillows for sick children whose parents couldn’t afford to take them to the doctor. On other occasions, she has had to make doctors’ appointments for her students and take them to the pharmacy to get medications.

“Many, many teachers have the same kinds of experiences I have,” said Ruedig, 51. “When Bill Bradley says there should be no uninsured child in America, that gets my attention, and he gets my vote.”

The testimonials of the two women stirred the candidate and seemed to jolt him back into focus after several days in which he has appeared distracted and dispassionate during campaign appearances. On Wednesday, Bradley spoke in urgent tones about his proposals to end child poverty and to provide universal health care.

“It is because of you that I have laid out the health care plan that I have in this campaign, because I think every child in America should be guaranteed health insurance,” he said to the two women. “I don’t see how you can hear these stories and say we can’t afford to do this. . . . Of course we can afford to do this. It’s a question of will and leadership.”

Bradley dismissed questions of whether the vice president has already gathered so much momentum that he is assured the Democratic nomination. Recent polls have shown Gore gaining support in Iowa, where presidential caucuses will be held Monday, and New Hampshire, which hosts the nation’s first primary Feb. 1.

“That’s the spin that’s out there today,” he said. “I obviously reject it. We’ve worked very hard in New Hampshire and we’re encouraged. We have enthusiasm among our supporters, we have confidence. . . . I think we’re in a very strong position here. That sounds to me like a wish from the other side and not the reality that I see out there every day.”