NORMAN, Okla. — That a national unity government would reverse America’s “perilous” course and restore hope was the message from the nonpartisan conference here, starring Mayor Bloomberg, who is raising his profile and calling on the presidential candidates to “face the big issues.”

“Government is dysfunctional. There is no collaboration and congeniality. There is no working together. No ‘let’s do what’s right for this country.’ I think there is no accountability today,” Mr. Bloomberg said on the eve of the New Hampshire primary. “Nobody is holding themselves accountable and to the standards of what they promised when they ran for office. And I think lastly, there is no willingness to focus on big ideas.”

RELATED: An Editorial, ‘Norman Conquest?’ | Forum Transcript (pdf)

Mr. Bloomberg was one of 17 participants at the political forum hosted by a former senator who is president of the University of Oklahoma, David Boren, and a former senator of Georgia, Samuel Nunn. It was billed as a meeting to end party gridlock and challenge the presidential candidates to rise above partisan politics but also considered a way for Mr. Bloomberg to present himself as an independent leader who can bridge party divisions.

The forum participants issued a statement saying the country is heading in the wrong direction and noted their specific policy concerns, including America’s low approval rating around the world, budget and trade deficits, the 50 million Americans without health insurance, our economic competitiveness, and the threat of terrorism.

They called on the presidential candidates to explain how they would create a government of national unity and reach bipartisan consensus to solve problems. A national unity government, the statement said, would create hope.

“In short, we believe that if we unify, we can turn America’s peril into America’s promise and face our future with optimism,” the statement said.

The statement offered a grim assessment of the state of the nation. “America is in danger. Our ability to meet and solve the problems that face us is seriously compromised. National surveys reveal that an unprecedented seven out of ten citizens believe that life for their children will not be as good as their own. We are headed in the wrong direction. We share their deep concern and frustration. Our nation is indeed at risk,” said the statement issued by Mr. Bloomberg, Mr. Nunn, Mr. Boren, and other attendees including a former governor of Maine, Angus King; a former governor of New Jersey, Christine Todd Whitman, and a secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, William Cohen.

“Approval for the United States around the world has dropped to historically low levels, with only one out of four people approving of our country’s actions, even in nations that are our longtime allies,” the statement warned. “Our budget and trade deficits are out of control. We are squandering our children’s future. The ominous transfer of our national wealth has made our economy vulnerable, and our economic strength and competitiveness are both declining. Middle-income Americans are struggling to keep their homes and jobs and educate their children.”

The statement, which was also signed by a former governor of Virginia, Charles Robb, and by several former senators, including John Danforth, Gary Hart and Robert Graham, said, “Our military is stretched thin and our nation remains vulnerable to catastrophic terrorism.” It also warned, “We are being held economically hostage because we have no energy policy worthy of the name.”

It asked the presidential candidates to provide “clear descriptions of how they would establish a government of national unity,” including “plans to go beyond tokenism to appoint a truly bipartisan cabinet with critical posts held by the most qualified people available regardless of political affiliation.”

Mr. Bloomberg and Senator Hagel, a Republican of Nebraska, were the only two participants who currently hold elected office. A political strategist and pollster who worked for the mayor, Douglas Schoen, wrote in a new book about the end of the two-party system due out next month that a Bloomberg-Hagel ticket would be “powerful.”

Mr. Bloomberg’s chief political adviser added fuel to the speculation that Mr. Bloomberg will seek the White House this year, saying the question of his candidacy would be answered in “time.” When asked if the mayor will run for president, the aide, Kevin Sheekey, who is exploring a possible presidential run for Mr. Bloomberg, veered from the usual denials used by the mayor.

“Time will tell,” Mr. Sheekey told The New York Sun.

After leaving a private dinner party at the home of Mr. Boren on Sunday night, Mr. Hagel would not comment on such a ticket, saying “that’s all hypothetical.”

“We’re not about that here and the mayor says he’s not a candidate,” he said.

Mr. Bloomberg issued another presidential denial during the panel yesterday, saying: “I am not a candidate, number one. I am a retired businessman and mayor.” But the panel’s moderator, Mr. Boren, did not rule out a White House bid by Mr. Bloomberg when speaking to reporters after the forum.

“I think he’s a good American and I don’t think he would close the door on it if he thought it was his duty,” he said. But, he added, “I don’t think he has the ambition to run for president. I think he hopes like the rest of us — hope against hope — that the two parties will rise to the occasion.”

A former senator from Minnesota, Dean Barkley, who ran the campaigns of independent Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura and an independent candidate for governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman, traveled from Minnesota to see Mr. Bloomberg at the forum. He said the major party politicians need to be scared before they will change.

“The only way Democrats or Republicans respond is if they think they are going to lose power. And the only way they think they are going to lose power is if you run against them. So unless they throw someone up against the status quo, the status quo won’t change,” he said.

Mr. Barkley said he thought Mr. Bloomberg could win the presidency if he ran but that there are a number of unanswered questions about his potential campaign.

“Can he motivate? Is he a motivational kind of guy on the stump? How will he sell in the rest of the country? Those are all unanswered questions, but I’d like to see him try,” he said. “I think it can be done, yeah. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think he couldn’t do it.”

A WNBC/Marist poll of New York State voters released yesterday found that 27% of registered voters surveyed want Mr. Bloomberg to run for president this year and that 60% said they favor the idea of building a new independent party that would nominate a credible candidate for president.

The poll indicated Senator Clinton or Senator Obama would carry New York against any of four possible Republican nominees when Mr. Bloomberg was placed in the hypothetical race as an independent candidate.