OS ANGELES - Vice President Al Gore and former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley debated last night for the final time before the crucial round of Democratic primaries Tuesday with a breezy give-and-take that belied the underlying tension between them and the size of the stakes.
Gore, buoyed by an endorsement from the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, resisted attacking Bradley or appearing overconfident in an effort to protect his massive lead in the polls.
Bradley, breaking from his previous debate strategy of attacking Gore at nearly every turn, took the high ground, apparently determined not to appear desperate or petty as he faces calls to drop out of the race rather than hurt the party's cause.
As a result, the forum opened with Gore and Bradley praising their wives, discussing Internet technology and teaming up in attacking the leading Republican presidetial candidates.
The debate, hosted by the Los Angeles Times and CNN, was the ninth between the candidates and provided viewers who will cast ballots in 16 Democratic contests Tuesday the last chance to see the candidates through an unfiltered lens.
Jackson's endorsement was yet another blow to Bradley, who considers himself more attuned to minority concerns than Gore. Bradley needs black and Hispanic voters to abandon Gore in waves if Bradley is to have any hope of overcoming the vice president's overwhelming lead, particularly in California and New York, the largest states that vote next week.
Jackson described Gore as ''the most qualified and experienced candidate in a generation.''
For Bradley, the debate provided a fleeting opportunity to gain ground. Gore shellacked Bradley by 36 points in Tuesday's nonbinding primary in Washington state, where Bradley had invested vast time and money in an effort to catapult back into contention.
Despite his grim prospects, Bradley insisted he will carry the fight at least through Tuesday. In a news conference at a health center in Huntington Park, Calif., he predicted he will defy political logic by showing that Tuesday is ''the takeoff point'' for his campaign.
''Mark Twain put it best when he said, `Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated,''' Bradley said the morning after his dismal showing in Washington. ''We're going on to March 7, and we're moving fast.''
For Gore, the debate was about not making mistakes that could chip away at his commanding lead going into the primaries next week.
Gore aides insist they are still focused on the Democratic primary, despite Bradley's flailing campaign. ''We're very disciplined,'' said senior adviser Robert Shrum.
Gore had an unusually light schedule yesterday, heading to the beach in the morning for a leisurely jog with his daughter Kristin. In the afternoon, Gore walked through the debate site, then returned to his hotel.
Asked before his beach jog if he thought Bradley should withdraw from the race, Gore said, ''I'm campaigning in California. I'm talking to voters, not to him.''
Bradley limited his public schedule to a stop at the health center, in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, where he renewed his call for a comprehensive overhaul of the health care system that would provide access to coverage for every US citizen. Of the 44 million Americans without health coverage, he said, 11 million are Hispanic.
In his news conference afterward, Bradley disputed published reports that senior aides and top supporters have recommended that he withdraw from the race to spare himself from the possibility of a humiliating shutout in the 16 primary contests Tuesday.
''Zero have come to me and said they think I ought to drop out,'' Bradley said.
Yet one of Bradley's top supporters, Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, acknowledged that Bradley will need ''miracle'' to overcome Gore's enormous lead. ''He spun the wheel of fortune yesterday and it came up bad,'' Kerrey said of the Washington primary.
Bradley is so far behind in the polls that many Democratic analysts are arguing only about when - not if - the former New Jersey senator will drop out.
''Bradley's got to figure out what his exit strategy is here, so he can define his candidacy in some positive way,'' said California veteran Democratic consultant Bill Carrick.
Bradley, underscoring his determination to press ahead, yesterday bought television time in a number of ''Super Tuesday'' states for four new ads that will begin running today. The ads were taped in black-and-white and were described by Bradley's spokesman, Eric Hauser, as ''very edgy.''
''Good luck, Bill,'' an unidentified voice says at the end of one ad. ''Bring it home.''
Scripts of the ads show that none of them could be interpreted as negative attacks on Gore.
Bradley also is scheduled to appear on national television tonight in an unusal five-minute address. His paid commercial is set to run at 10:54 p.m. on CBS.
In a Los Angeles Times poll reported yesterday, Gore led Bradley by a ratio of 5 to 1. In an added political indignity, Bradley ranked third among Democratic voters, behind Gore and Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, and tied at 11 percent with Texas Governor George W. Bush.
''Maybe Bradley's strategy should be to go negative'' on Alan Keyes, ''to keep him from catching up,'' quipped Carrick, referring to the ultraconservative third-place Republican candidate.
The Gore camp, meanwhile, has been raising money and cutting targeted campaign ads.
Gore will soon release four radio spots - two directed at African-Americans and two aimed at Latinos - that will be aired in California and New York. The ads feature prominent minority political leaders in the two states.
''Gore has got to start focusing on the general election. He's got to treat Bradley in a less adversarial way ... to make Bradley supporters feel more comfortable with him,'' Carrick said before the debate.
Gore returned last night to his usual, frenetic campaign schedule, flying out after the debate to arrive this morning in New York. Gore is also set to go to Virginia today, and his pre-primary schedule includes stops in Boston, Buffalo, Florida and Georgia.
Bradley also was scheduled to take a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to the New York area. He is scheduled to campaign today in New York City and Bridgeport, Conn., before heading tomorrow to Maine and Rhode Island.
Bradley's aides said his best chances of surprising Gore are in New York, Maryland, Missouri and the five New England states that hold primaries Tuesday.
Bradley was endorsed yesterday by the Bangor Daily News. ''More than taking issues that define the Democratic Party, Senator Bradley has demonstrated during every step of this race that restoring the dignity of the office - the dignity of this nation - is paramount to his campaign,'' the paper said in an editorial.
