EW YORK - Bill Bradley yesterday acknowledged the imperiled state of his campaign as he turned toward the Northeast in the hope of emerging from Tuesday's do-or-die primaries with a reason to continue his quest for the White House.
All but writing off California, Ohio, and several other large states that hold primaries Tuesday, Bradley indicated that he will focus his last-ditch efforts on New York and New England as he struggles to avoid elimination from the race for the Democratic nomination. He began by campaigning at a popular hot-dog stand in Greenwich Village before stumping in Hartford and Bridgeport, Conn.
''I'd be less than truthful if I didn't tell you I wish I was 30 points up,'' Bradley said in an interview with a television station in New York, where polls show him trailing Vice President Al Gore by about 30 points.
Gore, also campaigning in New York, hammered away at a favorite theme, education, as he visited with elementary school children and their teachers at an uptown school.
Taking a soft swipe at the Republican presidential candidates, who back vouchers for private school, Gore said, ''They seem to think that because public schools begin with `P.S.,' that education is an afterthought.''
Gore declined to comment on the conviction yesterday of Maria Hsia, saying that the matter was still in the courts. Hsia was a key figure in the 1996 Democratic fund-raising scandals, for which Gore has been harshly criticized, particularly by Bradley.
''The jury has rendered a verdict,'' Gore said. It's a hard day for her. She's a friend and a political supporter.''
Bradley, who has significantly softened his attacks on Gore as he strives to present himself with greater dignity in the final days before Super Tuesday, would not directly address Hsia's conviction. He said only that the case underscores the need to overhaul the campaign finance system.
Bradley, working on 90 minutes of sleep after an overnight flight from Los Angeles, insisted again that he will not heed calls to withdraw from the race at least until the 16 Democratic contests are completed Tuesday.
''I'm not going to quit,'' he said. ''I'm strong. I'm fighting.''
Reflecting the rationale he has shared with top supporters for remaining in the race, Bradley said, ''I believe I owe it to people to give them a chance to say I've offered myself as a candidate.''
Notable among those people are thousands of donors who helped Bradley raise more than $20 million for his renegade run for the White House. Many contributors were inspired by Bradley's sports career, in which he captained an Olympic gold medal team and won two NBA championships.
''I've been in those places before where nobody thought you can do it and I did it, so it doesn't bother me,'' he said of the long odds against him.
As part of his comeback attempt, Bradley invested an estimated $1 million last night to air a 5-minute television ad on CBS that reached about 7 million viewers.
The ad was largely a variation on Bradley's standard stump speech, in which he calls for capitalizing on the country's unprecedented prosperity to invest in ending child poverty, guaranteeing access to comprehensive health care coverage, improving public schools, and promoting racial unity.
''When we do all those things, all of us will be stronger,'' he concludes in the ad. ''That's why I entered the race against all odds. That's why I will fight for every last vote to be your president.''
Bradley was scheduled to take his campaign today to Portland High School in Maine and Feinstein College of Continuing Education in Providence as he focuses his resources on New England and New York. ''Those are states I can win,'' he said.
In Connecticut last night, Bradley conducted interviews with Hartford television stations and addressed supporters at a Boys and Girls Club in Bridgeport. At Bradley InternationalAirport in Windsor Locks, he issued a direct appeal to voters.
''Don't listen to the pollsters and the pundits,'' he said. ''Vote your heart. Vote your conscience. Vote for a new politics.''
Gore, who also took a red-eye flight to New York after Wednesday night's Democratic debate, reiterated his call for smaller class sizes, money to build schools, and the weeding out of bad teachers ''who reflect poorly on the vast majority'' of educators.
The vice president first read to a class of 5- and 6-year-olds, who seemed unclear about what Gore did for a living. ''President?'' offered one student. ''Principal?'' ventured another. Some students did recognize Gore as the vice president, though one thought Gore was ''Clinton's principal.''
Gore has a packed travel schedule going up until March 7. He is scheduled to arrive late tonight in Boston, after campaigning in Florida and Georgia.
Bradley also made an impromptu statement condemning the South Carolina Legislature for voting yesterday against a state holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and for the continued use of the Confederate flag as the state symbol.
''Yet again South Carolina sticks a finger in the eye of all those people in the country who want a country that recognizes that diversity is a strength and not a weakness,'' Bradley said.
