MORE TUESDAY COVERAGE Candidates tweak message for New Hampshire terrain Candidates charge onto N.H. airwaves Bradley appeals to independent New Hampshire voters Republicans look for spirited contest in N.H. Abortion issue dogs McCain in New Hampshire Caucuses over, presidential candidates flee to New Hampshire Tax issue boosts Forbes coming into New Hampshire Snow keeps Keyes from campaigning in N.H. Ad accuses McCain of working to cover up live POW data

Bradley also was looking for a quick way to sharpen his differences with the vice president and give voters better reasons to support him before next Tuesday's primary.

The two men square off in a debate Wednesday night at 9 p.m. EST.

The day after his one-sided loss to Gore in Iowa, Bradley got a rousing airport welcome from supporters at 3:30 a.m. and spoke later in the day at a high school. He also spent considerable time resting up from the Iowa campaigning and preparing for the debate.

An upbeat Gore, with campaign events through the day, jokingly dismissed the snowstorm that arrived in New Hampshire along with the candidates.

"They know how to deal with snow here," Gore said after picking up a stash of donuts and hot coffee for a snowplow crew. "In Washington, you get one flake and forget it."

He emphasized his energy through the day, telling reporters he had had only an hour of sleep and was "running on adrenaline."

He took what was supposed to be an abbreviated schedule and rewrote it as he went along, crisscrossing from a school to the donut shop to the snowplow garage, back to the school and then to a college campus.

Bradley said at his high school stop that his nontraditional campaign style works well in this state.

"New Hampshire is a bastion of independent thinking," he said. "Nobody tells them what to do. They make up their own minds."

Aides had billed his speech as kicking off a new phase of the campaign, redefining and sharpening the differences with Gore. But in the speech, the former New Jersey senator did not mention the vice president or the results in Iowa.

Instead, he talked in larger themes about changing the political culture, pointing to what he argued was a 20-year record of leadership on economic issues and his opposition to attack politics.

"If you are tired of misrepresentation in political campaigns to pursue a personal agenda, if you are tired of what you have seen in the last decade in this country, then you can send a message," he said.

Gore was careful to keep his remarks free of any overconfidence, mindful of the state's reputation for rejecting front-runners.

"This is a tough fight and we are not going to take anything for granted," Gore said at a rally so smoothly staged that it resembled a White House event.

"I understand very clearly that New Hampshire doesn't take its cue or lead from anywhere else," he said. "You make your own decisions and I'm asking you for your vote."

Gore defeated Bradley 65 percent to 35 percent in Iowa, but polls show a much closer race in New Hampshire.

While aides argued that Bradley would be more aggressive as he resumed his New Hampshire campaign, outside analysts said he faced a delicate task in confronting Gore.

"It's outrageously high risk" said unaligned Democratic consultant Dana Strother. Strother argued that a core Bradley appeal is depicting himself as a nontraditional politician and venturing into personal attacks could risk that image. Others said Bradley has suffered early in the campaign because he has been slow to respond to attacks from Gore, and warned that time may be running out.

"It may be too late," said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato. "He's sitting in the middle of the ring and letting Gore pound him."

Bradley himself said Tuesday that voters respond to his disdain for "excessive partisanship" and "politics as usual." Focusing on issues where he says he differs from Gore, he argued that both the health care and tax proposals he's offered would work better than Gore's for middle class voters.

Gore was dogged at each stop Tuesday by two men trying to make a negative point about his 1996 fund-raising tactics at a Buddhist monastery.

Justin Bonner, 20, and Brian McHugh, 19, said they had driven up from Boston to follow Gore around in maroon and saffron robes and flesh colored skull caps. They carried a briefcase labeled, "Al Gore Finance Committee."