Tipper Gore Bradley Address N.H. Dems

MANCHESTER, N.H.-Leading Democrats in the state of the nation's first primary heard from one of the candidates for the party's presidential nomination, and the wife of the other, at their convention Saturday.

Former Senator Bill Bradley and Tipper Gore, wife of frontrunner Al Gore '69, were the keynote speakers at the party's mid-term meeting in Manchester.

With the Democratic race shaping up into a two-man fight, both campaigns were intent on wooing support among the delegates, most of whom are active local Democrats. Polls have shown Gore leading Bradley by a large margin in New Hampshire, and much of the state Democratic establishment has already thrown its weight behind the vice president.

But Bradley supporters were out in strength at this weekend's convention, and some delegates said they thought Gore's 39-point lead in a March Washington Post/ABC News poll may be exaggerated. Even Gore's supporters in New Hampshire predicted the race would be much tighter by next February.

So far, Bradley and Gore are the only two apparent candidates for the Democratic nomination.

Bradley, on his third visit to New Hampshire this year, said enacting campaign finance, keeping the government out of citizens' private lives and promoting racial harmony would be his top priorities as president. Bradley also said, without mentioning President Clinton's name, that he believed the office of the presidency had been damaged, and he would reverse its decline.

"Trust in the President as an individual--we need to restore that," Bradley said.

Tipper Gore, who spoke just before Bradley at the stage of the Memorial High School auditorium, praised her husband's record as vice president.

She avoided discussing specific policy issues, instead describing general goals that she said would be the aim of an Al Gore presidency.

She mentioned connecting all American classrooms to the Internet and ensuring equal pay for women as goals Gore would pursue as president.

"The prices of bread and milk do not discriminate by gender, so why should our paychecks?" she asked.

Both candidates were making every effort to garner support from the delegates, whose backing they will need for a grassroots primary campaign next winter.

But many of the delegates to the convention said they had already made their choice, even though the primary is still 10 months away.

Gore has the support of much of the New Hampshire Democratic political establishment, including Bill Shaken, husband of Gov. Jeanne Shaken, who is directing the vice president's campaign in the state. Of convention delegates who had a favorite, most seemed to support Gore.

Delegate Purnell "Fred" Ross, former chair of the Dover Democratic Caucus and a Gore supporter, said that while Bradley impressed him, he remained a Gore supporter.

"Quite frankly, I was very inspired by Bradley, I thought today's speech was dynamite," Ross said. "But [Gore] is a future-looking person. He's got a good view of what the future can be, and that's the essential thing for the president."

One uncommitted delegate said he was impressed by both speakers, but was unsure that Bradley could mount a successful challenge to the well-financed and widely supported Gore.

"I was hoping to get a little more inspiration and enthusiasm from Bradley than I did," said Canaan delegate Art Ferrier, a high school government teacher.

One Bradley supporter at the conven- tion, Rindge Democratic Chair Peter Howe, saidit was too early to look at polls.

"He's going to win this primary," Howe said.

The candidate himself acknowledged at a pressconference following his speech that he waslagging behind Gore. But, he said, "It's a longway to February 2000."

In his speech, Bradley acknowledge a group ofabout 20 students from his alma mater, Princeton,who made the trek from New Jersey to support theformer senator.

Caitlin A. Fritz, a Princeton first-year whocame with the group, said she was impressed by thecandidate.

"I thought he was an amazing speaker," shesaid.

While at Princeton, Bradley was a three-timebasketball All-American. He later played for theNew York Knicks. He was first elected to theSenate in 1978

"He's going to win this primary," Howe said.

The candidate himself acknowledged at a pressconference following his speech that he waslagging behind Gore. But, he said, "It's a longway to February 2000."

In his speech, Bradley acknowledge a group ofabout 20 students from his alma mater, Princeton,who made the trek from New Jersey to support theformer senator.

Caitlin A. Fritz, a Princeton first-year whocame with the group, said she was impressed by thecandidate.

"I thought he was an amazing speaker," shesaid.

While at Princeton, Bradley was a three-timebasketball All-American. He later played for theNew York Knicks. He was first elected to theSenate in 1978