Sen. Bradley Says He May Set His Sights on White House : Politics: New Jersey lawmaker won’t seek reelection or challenge Clinton in Democratic primaries. But he is mulling an independent bid.

Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), after rattling the White House with his decision not to seek reelection, added to President Clinton’s political woes Thursday by declaring he might launch an independent bid for the presidency.

In a round of interviews, Bradley reiterated that he would not challenge Clinton in next year’s Democratic primaries. But he said he would consider pursuing the White House through the independent route and planned to “go out and try to continue a dialogue with the American people and see what happens.”

Clinton had extended his best wishes to Bradley after the three-term senator told the President on Wednesday that he did not plan to run for reelection or challenge him for the Democratic nomination. But Bradley apparently failed to mention that he was contemplating a run as an independent and planning an extensive public dialogue to see if it is possible.

White House officials, already disturbed that Bradley’s reelection decision will diminish the Democrats’ slim chances of regaining control of the Senate, now worry that if he runs as an independent, Clinton’s own political prospects could be damaged severely.

Bradley is well-known in the Northeast--both because of his Senate service and his collegiate basketball record at Princeton University and his pro career as a New York Knick--and could be expected to draw his greatest support from that region. Clinton, too, is strong in the Northeast, but he can ill afford to lose support there if he is to survive what looks to be a bruising reelection fight.

Asked about Bradley’s possible candidacy, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said: “We’re staying away from speculating about whether he’ll run as an independent and kick the stuffing out of the President. But if he decides to, we’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

But McCurry, who has known Bradley for many years, went on to speculate that the senator won’t run for President and pointed out that a campaign would require the tedious work of building a national organization and massive fund raising, activities he said Bradley doesn’t relish.

McCurry also insisted he believes the senator’s dialogue with the public “will be a positive one that in the long run will help President Clinton.”

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) both said Bradley’s decision to consider running as an independent suggested that Clinton’s support among Democrats was weakening. Those comments drew a sharp retort from Bradley.

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In an interview with The Times, Bradley said: “I make a heartfelt statement about reaching out to people and hoping to reinvigorate the political dialogue and they make comments like that. They are caught in the old politics in a deep way. That’s what’s wrong with the system, politicians talking in terms people don’t care about. Why not talk about issues like middle-class families losing their jobs and no health insurance?”

Asked if he was not concerned that he might be viewed as a spoiler for Democratic control of the White House if he ran as an independent, he said: “No, the real question is--is this something the American people want? Is it a historic moment in terms of people saying neither party is speaking to them?”

If Bradley does run, he must confront a major obstacle that has stalled the campaigns of past independent presidential candidacies: fund raising.

But Ted Wells, a New Jersey attorney who has been Bradley’s chief fund-raiser, said he would anticipate “no problem” raising enough money for a presidential campaign. The same team that raised $12 million for Bradley’s last Senate run in 1990 is still in place, he said.

“Being President has always been one of Bill Bradley’s ambitions and a number of us in his inner circle for some time have been urging him to run for the White House,” Wells said. “We are excited about his decision not to run for reelection and think it gives him more freedom and flexibility to run either in ’96 or 2000.”

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In announcing his decision not to seek reelection and in his interviews Thursday, Bradley made a point of criticizing both major parties, saying they have lost touch with the American public and are not addressing the issues important to the lives of most citizens.

He said: “I think the Republican Party is basically saying, ‘The only thing we need is the private sector and charity and we don’t need government at all.’ And I think that’s an absurd position. I think that the Democratic Party has exaggerated the importance of government in people’s lives.”

As word spread Thursday of Bradley’s interest in an independent presidential bid, two veteran political figures who themselves are considering such campaigns--the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Lowell P. Weicker Jr.--praised the New Jersey senator and said they would welcome his candidacy.

Weicker, who won Connecticut’s governorship as an independent after representing the state in the U.S. Senate as a Republican, said: “Bradley’s terrific and fills the definition of a centrist and a very able legislator. I suspect in the months ahead there is going to be a lot of talk in both parties about the need for centrist moderates and not the wackos of the extremes.”

Jackson said Bradley “brings to the public dialogue appeal to youth, a multiracial appeal, credible scholarship.” Jackson said these attributes represent “something different from two other major independent candidates” in recent U.S. political history--former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace and Dallas billionaire Ross Perot.

Perot, who ran a surprisingly strong race as a third-party candidate in 1992, called Bradley “a fine man,” but did not offer an opinion on the senator’s political plans.