EW YORK - Bill Bradley bid farewell to his hopes of becoming the next president of the United States yesterday, and prepared to announce his formal withdrawal from the presidential race.
''I believe history will write that we tried to change politics, to restore trust and to defeat the politics of expediency,'' Bradley told a crowd of disappointed but spirited supporters here last night.
Bradley told the faithful that through their joint efforts they had brought honor and idealism back to politics and forced Vice President Al Gore to place such issues as universal health care, hungry poor children, gun violence, and campaign finance reform on the Democratic Party agenda.
''He won. I lost,'' said Bradley. But Gore's sweep of the Super Tuesday primaries, he said, ''makes the cause no less just, the fight no less honorable, the goal no less reachable.
''Despite our lack of victory tonight,'' Bradley added, ''we've shaped the national debate.''
''Change isn't easy,'' Bradley said. ''I've always said it would take time.'' He vowed to stay active in politics and fight for liberal causes. Though he did not criticize Gore by name, he suggested that the vice president was part of a crass and cynical political culture.
''In this campaign we don't ask where the wind is blowing and then follow it to gain the people's quick approval,'' Bradley said. ''We begin with conviction, talk with people, listen to their stories and then propose what we think will make a difference in their lives.''
''Bill, in this campaign, wanted to bring back into the campaign integrity, decency, and honor,'' said Bradley's wife, Ernestine, introducing her husband.
Bradley is expected to formally close down his presidential campaign after spending today resting and reflecting as well as thanking friends and supporters, he and his aides said.
''He's not dropping out ... tonight,'' said Bradley's campaign spokesman, Eric Hauser, who added that the campaign would announce its plans this morning.
Bradley was cheered by a thousand supporters, including dozens of the idealistic young people who had been drawn to his campaign - and to whose energy and idealism he paid special tribute - at a hotel ballroom in midtown Manhattan.
Paraphrasing Rudyard Kipling, Bradley urged his troops to treat victory and defeat - ''both these imposters, just the same.''
''We are now a step closer'' to reforming US health care and politics, and to closing the gaps that exist among the country's racial and ethnic groups, Bradley said.
Despite the sorry but long-expected circumstances, the mood was upbeat, with a soul band and open bars and buffets keeping the crowd in good spirits. Many wore or waved baseball caps that were embroidered with the words, ''Bill Bradley.''
Aware of the mighty odds he faced, Bradley had begun to make the painful psychological adjustment of putting his presidential hopes in the past tense during a final, two-day swing here, in the state where he won fame as a professional basketball player for the New York Knicks. Across the Hudson River is his home in New Jersey, which he represented in the US Senate for 18 years.
Bradley ended his last full day of campaigning Monday with a rally at dusk in Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan. When the speeches were over, he lingered long after the crowd had drifted away, chatting with the well-wishers who remained, as if to savor the moment.
The young, tired members of his staff hugged one another and took souvenir group photographs at what they guessed would be the last Bradley rally.
Bradley's campaign began in obscurity last spring, then soared in the polls as many voters expressed disapproval of the Clinton-Gore scandals. Though Bradley's cerebral approach intrigued many independents, he failed to thrill fellow Democrats.
Gore launched attacks, questioning Bradley's fortitude and challenging him in debate. When Bradley suffered a series of minor heart problems, the sizzle seemed to go from his campaign. Gore trounced Bradley in Iowa, and beat him more narrowly in New Hampshire. Then came yesterday's deluge.
