EW YORK - Davita Cook badgered Al Gore as he strode down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard yesterday, crossed Frederick Douglass Boulevard and made his way to the historic Apollo Theatre for a brief rehearsal before last night's debate.
''Mr. Gore, tell Mr. Clinton we love what he's done for us,'' said Cook, a 24-year-old forensic science student. ''Will you pick up where Mr. Clinton left off?'' she asked, following his every footstep. ''Do you promise to stay true?''
Gore, who was busy shaking hands and asking for votes in this state's March 7 primary, eventally summoned Cook over to where he was standing, shook her hand, and engaged her in a brief, private conversation.
He could not afford to ignore her. It is people like Cook who have helped create a yawning gap between Gore and his Democratic rival, Bill Bradley.
Despite Bradley's message of racial inclusion, the former New Jersey senator has so far been unable to shake Gore's support among black voters who see the vice president as the heir apparent to President Clinton, whom the prolific writer Toni Morrison once described as America's first black president.
But that does not mean Bradley is conceding the black vote to Gore, and here in Harlem, nothing can be taken for granted.
Though Gore leads Bradley among blacks in New York by a 2 to 1 ratio, the Gore campaign was almost gleeful at the prospect that last night's debate might have had to be canceled because of a labor dispute with the Apollo.
Gore aides did not want to give Bradley an ounce of free publicity, as well as not give Bradley a chance to peel off black voters with his message of racial inclusion.
''All the debates are big, but this one is bigger,'' said Bradley spokesman Eric Hauser hours before the debate. ''Al Gore is clearly afraid of debating, and we've got him where we want him for one night and we expect to make the most of it.''
Bradley's guests at the debate included Harvard professor Cornel West, film director Spike Lee, and former New York Knicks star Willis Reed. Gore brought along some of New York's top elected leaders, including US Representative Charles B. Rangel, former New York Mayor David Dinkins, and New York Comptroller H. Carl McCall.
Despite Gore's lead among black voters, Bradley hopes to make a dent by, among other things, running a television ad in New York and other markets featuring the former Chicago Bulls star and millionaire pitchman Michael Jordan.
Gore's aides, who earlier said they were worried about Jordan's endorsement of Bradley, played it down yesterday.
''People know Michael Jordan for what he is, which is a great basketball player, a hero, but, you know, not someone you take political cues from about who you vote for for president of the United States,'' said Bill Knapp, a Gore media adviser.
Before the debate, Gore, accompanied by Rangel, mined for votes while strolling through a block and a half of Harlem.
Along the way, he was asked to continue the work Clinton has started. ''What are your political plans?'' one man asked. ''Are you going to stick to Bill's plans?''
Bradley, for his part, visited a racially mixed, working-class neighborhood of Hispanics, Asians, and whites in Brooklyn before following Gore in stopping by the Apollo to walk through the theater and test the microphones.
In Brooklyn, Bradley said Gore's unrelenting attacks on his health care plan go against the Democratic Party. ''I am disappointed that Al Gore has attacked and distorted it. It casts doubt on his commitment to a basic plank in the Democratic platform,'' he said.
Unlike Gore, ''Bill Bradley is no stranger to Harlem,'' Hauser said. Beginning with his rookie year with the Knicks, Bradley volunteered as a reading instructor there and also worked at a summer camp for children, Hauser said. ''That kind of commitment to people who need the most help has always marked his public service,'' he added.
Bob Hohler of the Globe Staff, traveling with Bradley, contributed to this report.
