New York ? Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean made an impassioned case here Wednesday that he should abandon public financing of his presidential campaign — a strategic gamble that he can raise more money than he will give up in public money and still win the nomination.

Dean appealed to his supporters for permission to become the first Democrat ever to reject public funding, charging that Bush is “selling our democracy” to wealthy contributors. He said the only way to compete against the $170 million Bush plans to raise is to forego public financing, as Bush has done, and try to raise an equivalent amount from an army of small contributors. Those who accept public money must limit total primary spending to $45 million.

Dean’s appeal came as he sought to extricate himself from a damaging controversy over his statement Friday that he wanted to be the “the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.” At the beginning of his speech, Dean acknowledged that he had been “clumsy” in his language and said that if there were African Americans or whites offended by what he said, “I deeply regret the pain that I may have caused.”

The decision over public financing comes in what now shapes up as a crucial week in the battle for the Democratic nomination, with Dean hoping to win the endorsement today of the Service Employees International Union, the largest union in the AFL-CIO. Together the two moves would give Dean significant momentum, and his rivals were mounting a strong campaign to block the endorsement.

The taxpayer-financed system, established after the Watergate scandal, encourages small donations by matching them with federal funds, but imposes spending limits on candidates during the primaries.

Many Democrats, including Dean, have come to believe that acceptance of public financing has turned into a financial trap in light of Bush’s decision to reject the money and the limits. A candidate who takes public money in the primaries faces the prospect of being outspent by Bush by 4 to 1 or more between now and September, when Bush is formally nominated.

Dean said Bush’s financial advantage would be most significant after the Democrats had settled their nomination battle but before their national convention in July. During that period, he said, a Democrat who abides by spending limits will likely have to spend the $45 million by early March to win and will be prohibited from spending any more. “A Democratic nominee with no money is exactly what the Bush campaign is hoping for,” Dean said.

By walking away from public financing, Dean would forfeit an estimated $18.6 million in federal matching funds, which might be desperately needed in the caucuses and primaries of January and February — unless his supporters quickly sent in more contributions.

Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean addresses a crowd of supporters in New York. Dean announced Wednesday that he was asking his supporters to vote on whether he should remain in the federal election financing system. He would be the first candidate in Democratic Party history to reject federal campaign money.