By Sandra Sobieraj
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, March 1, 2000; 9:32 p.m. EST

LOS ANGELES –– Long courted by both Democratic presidential campaigns, the Rev. Jesse Jackson threw his support behind Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday and said it was time for him and Bill Bradley to come together.

"At some point, we have to fold our tent and create a bigger tent," Jackson told reporters as Gore campaign chairman Tony Coelho and campaign manager Donna Brazile stood near his side.

"When this process has been determined, both (Bradley and Gore) must make a decision that is not just to win for themselves but to win for the nation," Jackson said. "If I can be a factor in that bridge-building, in that reconciliation, I want to do that."

Jackson said peacemaker was "not a formal role" that the Gore campaign gave him, but his own personal "desire as a Democrat."

Jackson announced his endorsement just as Gore and Bradley took the stage for their last scheduled debate. He recalled how personal animosity during the primaries – first between Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson, then between Edward M. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter – divided Democrats and cost them the White House in 1968 and 1980.

"We should have learned," said Jackson.

As head of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and its army of grass-roots activists, Jackson's endorsement had been courted by both Democratic candidates since this time last year.

Jackson said he would travel the country doing voter registration and education on Gore's behalf.

Both Bradley and Gore "are electable," Jackson said, but because "the Clinton-Gore team has sparked the greatest economic boom in history, Vice President Al Gore is perfectly positioned to continue the growth for all Americans."

Jackson credited Bradley, a former basketball star with the New York Knicks, for bringing athletes like Chicago Bulls' legend Michael Jordan into politics.

"Most of them have not been involved before, yet they can be such inspiring forces to bring in new Democrats, to bring young people in."