Representatives from the two leading Democratic candidates for president visited the ARCO Forum last night in an attempt to win over students still shopping for a candidate.

The Kennedy School of Government Democratic Caucus hosted Jim Shannon, a campaigner for former Senator Bill Bradley, and Lynn Akin and Jon Schnur, from the campaign of Vice President Al Gore '69. The representatives took turns making presentations on behalf of their candidates, and were available for questions after the event.

According to Shannon, Bradley's rise in popularity "probably surprised a lot of people" especially since many candidates dropped out of the race early because of Gore's strong lead. Further, the press wrote off Bradley early on, said Shannon, who is the senior vice president and general counsel of the National Fire Protection Association.

Bradley's campaign centers on the big issues--which Shannon said the candidate felt are now being ignored.

"I have watched for the last six years as Democrats and Republicans have retrenched into an atmosphere that government can not do anything big anymore," Shannon said.

As president, Bradley would address fundamental issues, such as universal health care and gun control, according to Shannon.

In addition to implementing mandatory gun registration, Bradley hopes to use $65 billion to make sure that at least 95 percent of the population has health care, Shannon said.

Bradley, a candidate who has struggled to prove his viability against a well-funded front-runner like Gore, also wants to overhaul campaign financing, Shannon said. His idea, Shannon added, is to require broadcasters to set aside time for candidates in the weeks before elections.