UFFALO, N.Y. - Headed toward Boston for the first time since the New Hampshire primary, Bill Bradley yesterday voiced his strongest disappointment yet with his inability to capture public attention and, in particular, to connect with black voters.
Bradley, who came within four points of Vice President Al Gore in New Hampshire, had remained steadfastly optimistic in recent days even as his campaign has been overshadowed by Arizona Senator John McCain's surge in the Republican contest.
Bradley is scheduled to appear this morning at Codman Square Community Health Center in Dorchester with residents who have been touched by gun violence and activists who have worked to curb it. The event kicks off a bus tour that also takes him to Providence, New Haven, and White Plains, N.Y.
''It's a place where in the last two weeks we can focus our resources in a way that we can accomplish some things,'' Bradley said in an interview, describing his prospects in the five New England states that hold primaries March 7. ''I think we have a strong chance in all those states.''
He struck a more reflective tone during a news conference on a gray, gloomy morning in Buffalo and at a town meeting afterward in Rochester. Responding to questions, Bradley acknowledged that time is running out before the decisive primaries March 7 in 15 states. He conceded that he has had little success in reaching voters since the New Hampshire contest Feb. 1.
''The calendar isn't that helpful,'' Bradley said. ''The five-week gap, given what happened in New Hampshire, did create a little dead spot. But I don't think it's impossible to overcome when the public focuses again.''
He noted that the news media have reported his attacks on Gore less prominently than they have the sniping between McCain and Texas Governor George W. Bush. As an example, he cited his vehement response Monday to Gore's attack on his health plan.
''I very strongly condemned him for the points he made,'' Bradley said, ''but I don't know if it made the front page of the paper.''
Asked if whether he was getting his message across, Bradley said, ''Not always.''
But Bradley insisted he had not lost hope. ''I clearly have to win a number of states on March 7 and 14, no question about that,'' he said. ''We are behind now in most places, but we are moving, and the public really doesn't focus on this until the last two weeks of a campaign. We have plenty of time.''
If he is to gain considerable ground, Bradley needs to break through to black voters, a core Democratic constituency. To date, Gore has enjoyed overwhelming support among blacks.
''I feel a little disheartened by those numbers,'' Bradley said at Monroe Community College in Rochester. ''But that's not going to change my commitment.''
Moments later, he won over one black voter who initially told Bradley he was skeptical about his commitment to improving race relations. The Rev. Anthony Majors, associate pastor of the Lake Avenue Baptist Church in Rochester, said: ''I believe he is the only candidate at this point who is somewhat serious about diversity. If he hadn't said what he did, I wouldn't have voted at all.''
Bradley said he would launch a new advertising campaign next week in a final push to catch Gore.
James Shannon, a former Massachusetts lawyer and a Bradley supporter, said that he saw hopeful signs amid the rancor of the GOP primary in South Carolina. McCain and Bradley are vying for independent voters across the country, particularly in Massachusetts.
''People who were enamored of John McCain after New Hampshire are starting to take a second look,'' Shannon said. ''They are seeing that McCain is more conservative than they knew, and they are starting to come back to Bradley.''
