ohn McCain, facing an uphill battle in the Super Tuesday primaries, stepped onto a dais in Copley Square yesterday morning to the theme song from ''Rocky.''
Al Gore, coasting in most Democratic polls, ate blueberry pancakes and bacon at Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe in the South End with local officials, then said at a rally outside Faneuil Hall that voters can ''close the book'' and assure his nomination Tuesday.
While the contrasting symbolism of their Boston appearances reflected McCain's and Gore's campaigns before Tuesday's votes, Governor George W. Bush of Texas and former senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey campaigned through New York.
Bush tried for a second day to dodge questions about a sudden flood of anti-McCain advertisements paid for by wealthy contributors to the Bush campaign. He instead hammered away at his chosen topic for the day: education.
Asked at a news conference about the $2 million ad campaign paid for by two Texas brothers, Sam and Charles Wyly, Bush said he saw nothing wrong with it, despite his denunciation of negative campaign tactics by McCain.
Bradley, barnstorming through New York's boroughs, kept up his effort despite a poll finding that he trailed Gore in that state by 34 points.
''You know Harry Truman,'' Bradley told several hundred supporters in Greenwich Village. ''They said he was finished in 1948, he didn't have a chance. And you know what happened there. He came from behind to win.''
McCain and Gore appealed to New Englanders and to undecided independents before each headed to New York.
Dave Corkum, an Attleboro engineer who listened to Gore at Faneuil Hall, said he is still torn between the vice president and McCain, but appreciates a third candidate.
''I actually like Bradley,'' Corkum said. ''But I don't think he's got a chance.''
McCain continued his message of taking on the establishment. Gore's simultaneous appearance here seemed more about having that establishment, and the nomination, behind him.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy fired up the sparse crowd by asking why ''all the Republican candidates can talk about is religion, when neither one of them has a prayer of beating Al Gore?''
At Copley Square, McCain gave his 15-minute stump speech. While his line about President Clinton renting out the ''Lincoln Bedroom like it was Motel 6 and he was the bellhop'' got laughs in New Hampshire, it did not go over as well here.
There were, however, plenty of hoots, hollers and cheers, and a couple of interruptions by people shouting, ''Go John, Go!''
''It was good. It was short. Nothing new or revelatory, but I guess at this point in the campaign they don't want anything new,'' said Jim Beninati, 31, an engineer from Somerville, who recently switched from Democrat to Republican to vote for McCain.
Standing on the lawn was John Eade, former director of Boston's Inspectional Services Department and a self-described ''yellow-dog Democrat'' who has never voted for a Republican.
He won't start now, he said, but he added: ''This is a phenomenon.''
On the other side of the stage was Audrey Pierce, a 42-year-old South End ''liberal,'' she said, who ignored Gore's event because it was too far to walk. ''If he were president, it wouldn't bother me,'' Pierce said with a nod toward McCain.
As the candidate made his way to his campaign bus, one man shouted that McCain had committed war atrocities in Vietnam. An elderly woman shooed him away by flapping a McCain sign in his direction. She had help from another man, who repeatedly screamed ''shut up'' to the protester.
Joining Gore for breakfast in the South End were daughter Sarah, a junior at Harvard, Kennedy, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Gore leaned over plates of eggs and French toast to greet customers. He spoke with one man about Alzheimer's disease and another about last week's initial public offering by Palm Inc., maker of the Palm Pilot. ''A great product,'' Gore said. He also asked of a pregnant woman: ''You had a craving for blueberry pancakes, did you?''
Gore then plunged into an enthusiastic crowd that had formed along the street.
Russ Irwin, out walking his dog, noted that Menino had recently escorted Clinton to another South End eatery, Mike's City Diner. ''It's the new `in' area, I guess,'' said Irwin, who is 34.
Meanwhile, Bush, at a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Binghamton, N.Y., appeared comfortable and relaxed, especially in light of new polls showing him ahead in several states that vote Tuesday.
Bush, who picked up the endorsement yesterday of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, said there was ''no coordination'' between his campaign and the group airing the enviromental ads against McCain.
Two days after launching a harsh radio ad denouncing McCain's support of breast cancer research, Bush released a television commercial criticizing McCain's proposals for education. ''If John McCain has never made education a priority as a senator, why should he be president?'' the ad concludes.
Meanwhile, Bush also canceled a commitment to appear on CBS's ''60 Minutes'' after learning that the show had agreed to give McCain equal time.
McCain, on his bus after the rally in Copley Square, said Bush's allies were trying to ''hijack'' the election.
''Why should two Texans be able to inject $2.5 million in attack ads into a political campaign in the last two days? There's something wrong with the system,'' he said.
McCain and his aides yesterday were clearly angry about the advertising, and seemed worried about the candidate's prospects in the upcoming primaries, which looked much stronger a week ago.
''Bush is out of money,'' said a McCain aide, Mark Salter. ''He has no money to buy his own ads, so he had to get his rich Texan friends to buy them. But it's not going to work.''
McCain was not as forthcoming on the issue of breast cancer and the disclosure by his key supporter in New York that the senator's sister has had breast cancer.
''It's a family situation that I don't want to discuss,'' McCain said. ''I can't discuss it without talking about my sister.''
Asked whether he still considered the Texas governor a friend, McCain thought for a moment. ''Yes,'' he finally said, and went no further.
Globe Staff members Susan Milligan with Gore, Yvonne Abraham with McCain, Anne E. Kornblut with Bush, and Bob Hohler with Bradley contributed to this report.
