MORE COVERAGE Text of Bradley's speech More about Bill Bradley CAMPAIGN ALSO-RANS Candidates who have dropped out of the presidential race: REPUBLICANS: John Kasich (July 14, 1999) Lamar Alexander (Aug. 16) Dan Quayle (Sept. 27) Elizabeth Dole (Oct. 20) Orrin Hatch (Jan. 26, 2000) Gary Bauer (Feb. 4) Steve Forbes (Feb. 10) John McCain (March 9) DEMOCRAT: Bill Bradley (March 9)

WEST ORANGE, N.J. - Without a single primary win, Bill Bradley quit the Democratic presidential campaign today and said he will support Al Gore despite their sometimes bitter rivalry because ``now it is time for unity'' to win the White House.

His withdrawal comments retained traces of their campaign fight, as he said Gore's efforts against him had included ``distortions and negativity.'' He added, ``I hope that he'll run a better campaign in the general election.''

Bradley ended his presidential campaign as Republican Sen. John McCain suspended his against Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Both Gore and Bush emerged from the Super Tuesday primaries with their nominations assured.

``It certainly shows that when you do battle with entrenched power that it's very difficult and, indeed, I think that's what the story of the campaign was,'' Bradley said.

The former New Jersey senator telephoned the vice president to pledge support. But at a withdrawal news conference, he said he will not release the delegates he did win, saying they had earned a voice at the Democratic National Convention. He had 412 -- more than 1,000 behind Gore.

Gore praised his former rival for the nomination and welcomed his support. ``Bill Bradley is a good man whom I respect greatly,'' Gore said in a statement. ``I am honored to have his support.''

Gore said Bradley ran a ``campaign based on the highest ideals. ... This primary has been good for the Democratic Party and good for the nation.''

Bradley rejected the idea of running for vice president on a Gore ticket. ``I've said no, I will not be a candidate for vice president,'' he said.

``We have been defeated, but the cause for which I ran has not been defeated,'' Bradley told supporters and reporters. He said he will speak for his brand of new politics, including broadened health care insurance, gun controls, and campaign finance reform.

``The vice president and I had a stiff competition and he won,'' Bradley said. ``I will support him in his bid to win the White House.''

``We have been defeated, but the cause for which I ran has not been,'' he said, repeating his agenda of issues. ``That cannot be defeated by one or 100 defeats,'' he said.

Twice he was asked whether he would run for president again; twice he avoided answering and said he was going on vacation.

In Washington, President Clinton praised Bradley and the tenor of the Democratic nominating contest in general.

``If you looked at the issues he raised and the way in which he raised them, it recalled again how very much more substantive in my judgment the debate was on the Democratic side, on the issues, and how much more agreement there was,'' Clinton said during a question and answer session with reporters.

``On the Republican side there was far more disagreement, I think, and it was far less rooted in issues that will really affect the American people,'' Clinton said.

Bradley launched his underdog campaign 15 months ago at a Newark, N.J., community center, and his hopes soared through much of 1999 as he pitched his ideas for universal health insurance, an assault on child poverty and strict gun controls.

He walked picket lines, spoke of his commitment to race relations and assailed Gore for past ambivalence on abortion. Still, the Democratic Party's core constituencies -- organized labor, minorities, and abortion-rights groups -- rallied around Gore.

Other factors working against Bradley included his distaste for political hardball, his decision to challenge Gore in Iowa and competition from Republican John McCain for independent voters.

Time and again, Bradley declined to do more than jab at one Gore soft spot, the Democratic Party's fund-raising excesses in 1996. And when he did take the gloves off, using past votes in Congress to paint Gore as a closet conservative, for example, the party rushed to Gore's defense.

Tactically, Bradley's biggest mistake may have been investing time and resources in Iowa's leadoff caucus instead of continuing to focus on New Hampshire, where he overtook Gore in polling for the Feb. 1. primary.

Bradley and McCain both were at a disadvantage in Iowa, having voted in Congress against subsidies for ethanol. But while McCain skipped Iowa to focus on New Hampshire, Bradley courted Iowans as a belated convert to government support of the corn-based fuel.

All the while, Gore attacked Bradley's central proposal -- universal health care -- at once calling it too expensive and not expansive enough to help poor people afford full coverage.

Bradley's own health became an issue Dec. 10, when he was treated for atrial fibrillation, the most common type of heart irregularity.

He quickly held a news conference to proclaim, ``I'm feeling great. No problem.'' But exit polls indicated that one in five New Hampshire voters said they were concerned Bradley's health would interfere with his ability to serve effectively as president.

Gore beat Bradley in New Hampshire by 6,200 votes -- 50 percent to 46 percent. But Bradley tried for weeks to spin Gore's narrow victory as a partial success.

McCain, meanwhile, won the Republican New Hampshire primary and enjoyed the reformer's spotlight also sought by Bradley who, due to a quirk in scheduling, endured a five-week stretch before the next binding Democratic contests.