And several of his one-time backers said they were pleased at his declaration Tuesday night that he would not revive his candidacy.
In his first television appearance since he left the race in May, an interview on the ABC News program ''Nightline,'' Mr. Hart acknowledged that he had been unfaithful to his wife. Geoffrey D. Garin, a Democratic polltaker, said Mr. Hart's apology ''was convincing enough, but the explanation was a little hollow.''
''He's got to make peace with himself, and he's only at the negotiating table now,'' Mr. Garin added. ''He hasn't signed the treaty yet.''
In the interview, Mr. Hart said he took ''total responsibility'' for the actions that led to the end of his campaign. Mr. Hart, a 50-year-old former Senator from Colorado, withdrew from the Democratic contest in the wake of a report in The Miami Herald that he had spent a weekend in Washington with Donna Rice, a 29-year-old model and actress.
''I do not blame anyone else,'' said Mr. Hart, who in his withdrawal announcement last May denounced the press for violating his privacy and for taking an excessive interest in candidates' private lives.
He would not discuss his weekend with Ms. Rice, but did respond to a question he refused to answer when it was put to him by a reporter in New Hampshire amid the controversy: ''Have you ever committed adultery.''
''If the question is: In 29 years of my marriage, including two public separations, have I been absolutely and totally faithful to my wife, I regret to say the answer is no,'' Mr. Hart said. ''I was not running for sainthood.''
Mr. Hart insisted that he had ''no plans to run for President,'' but said he wanted ''to be part of this debate.''
The statement of his plans struck some observers as ambiguous. ''He's going to run in 1992,'' predicted Frank Greer, a Democratic consultant.
But William Dixon, who managed Mr. Hart's former campaign and first suggested that Mr. Hart might rejoin the race, said today that Mr. Hart's statement meant: ''It's over and he's out, out, out.''
Gary Rubin, an active Iowa Democrat who had supported Mr. Hart, said he was satisfied. ''I think that we Democrats - those who were with him and those who were not - deserved an apology,'' he said.
Source: nytimes
