Tsongas, whose political career began with hiselection to the Lowell City Council in 1968 andcontinued through four years in Congress and oneterm in the Senate, said he told Clinton, "You'rethe only person who has ever defeated me, and myhat's off to you."
Tsongas did not endorse either candidate.
In recent weeks, Tsongas had portrayed thecampaign as a two-man race between Clinton andhim.
Asked yesterday whether he still doubted theiconoclastic Brown was a viable candidate, Tsongasgave him a more favorable assessment than he hasin the past.
"Give Jerry Brown credit," Tsongas said. "We'llsee how his message evolves now that I'm not inthe race."
Tsongas said he would be meeting with bothBrown and Clinton in the near future.
As late as last weekend, Tsongas had ruled outrunning for vice president on a Clinton ticket,but he refused to confirm whether he still feltthat way yesterday.
"I promised the group last night after we metthat I would make no statements on my future,"Tsongas said.
Nevertheless, he said he would have some sortof role in the rest of the campaign, saying thathe now had a responsibility to help get a Democratin the White House.
"I will be a player," Tsongas said. "I am nowthe message that people have responded to. Wedidn't have the resources--we had the message."
Allen H. Erbsen '93, who chaired Tsongas'student support group at Harvard, said he thoughtthe campaign was successful in getting out itsmessage and that Tsongas "would have been the bestbearer" of that message as president.
Erbsen said he thinks that the entire party,rather than a single candidate, will benefit fromTsongas' departure, since much of the mudslingingand negative advertising of the campaign had beendirected at him.
"There's a definite interest in party unity,"Erbsen said.