Political heavyweights woo him. Candidates invite him to fundraising dinners and policy addresses. But yesterday, New York Times senior national political correspondent Richard L. Berke's only destination was the Institute of Politics (IOP), where the former fellow there talked about the campaign and reminisced about his Harvard days.

"I miss being here, I miss Pinocchio's, I miss everything," he joked over pizza as the discussion began.

The audience of about 40 peppered Berke with questions about the upcoming elections and his thoughts on the candidates.

Asked about the democratic race, Berke suggested that Bill Bradley may be a stronger candidate than many originally thought.

"He's not as organized as Gore, but he's a lot more organized than previous opponents to the front runner," Berke said. "I think he's going to give Gore a real run there."

The reporter spent a good part of the hour defending himself and his profession against accusations that the media focuses on the sordid side of politics.

"Politics, by nature, is a horse race," he said. "You can't get out from under that."

When an audience member asked if overcoverage of Bush was feeding his popularity, Berke said the opposite was true--reporters are forced to cover Bush due to his popularity.

"I find myself writing about Bush all the time," Berke said. "He's so overwhelming in the polls and raising money. You can't ignore that."

As for other candidates getting a short shrift, Berke argued that it's impossible to give everyone equal, adequate coverage.

"We only have so much room in the paper and I only have so much time in the day to write about these candidates," he said.

--Jonelle M. Lonergan