By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

              PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua (AP) -- In 1979, a 32-year-old man rode
              triumphant into Managua atop an armored personnel carrier, his wild hair
              blowing and his uniform flapping as crowds fired rifles in the air and rang the
              cathedral bells in celebration.

              In 2001, the same man at 55 sits in a gray dress shirt in a restaurant beside
              the gentle surf of the Caribbean sea, discussing in muted tones the errors of
              his youth and his ideas for the future.

              It has been a decade since he tried unsuccessfully to create a socialist
              paradise in one of the Americas' poorest countries, prompting the United
              States to fund a guerrilla war to stop him. Today, Daniel Ortega is leading in
              the polls for the November presidential election.

              Ortega said he still considers himself a Marxist and still believes in the same
              goals of social justice, but rejects the methods of armed struggle and
              repression that marked his youth.

              ``People go through a process of maturing,'' Ortega said in a wide-ranging
              interview with The Associated Press -- the first of his campaign. ``I think you
              have to hold onto your ideals, but you have to rethink how to achieve them.''

              The world in which Ortega came to power is no more. The Soviet Union that
              once supported him has disappeared. The Bush who watched Ortega leave
              power has retired, and his son is now in the White House.

              The brutal war between Ortega's government and the U.S.-funded Contra
              rebels is long over, although the limbless veterans begging on Managua's
              streets and the gangs of former fighters who roam the countryside searching
              for kidnap victims serve as jarring reminders.

              Under international pressure to bring democracy to Nicaragua, Ortega called
              elections for 1990 and lost, then lost another bid for re-election in 1996,
              running each time for his Sandinista National Liberation Front. But this time
              Ortega leads ruling party candidate Enrique Bolanos by a few percentage
              points in the polls.

              Part of the difference is Ortega's rhetoric. He now speaks of social justice
              within a market economy, and of good relations not just with Cuba and
              Libya, but with Israel and Taiwan as well.

              ``The revolution we carried out in the 1980s really wasn't viable. We took a
              great step forward ... when we decided to return to democratic rule,'' Ortega
              said.

              He added: ``We are in the best of moods to develop normal, respectful
              relations with the U.S. government, and to continue the friendship we have
              with the American people.''

              Also in Ortega's favor is widespread disillusionment with current President
              Arnoldo Aleman, who many Nicaraguans consider corrupt and uncaring
              amid widespread hunger and unemployment. Many Nicaraguans who vowed
              never to vote for a Sandinista are giving Ortega a second chance because
              they feel they have no good alternative.

              Ortega says his ideas have changed with the times, and his choice of a
              running mate, Agustin Jarquin, seems an indication of that. Jarquin was jailed
              six times in the 1980s for his opposition to Ortega's regime.

              ``This is a different Ortega from that of the 1980s,'' Jarquin said. ``This
              Ortega admits that he made some mistakes, and that he needs to learn from
              them.''

              Ortega began his campaign on Saturday with an event designed to show just
              how much he has changed. Traveling to the Caribbean coast, where Indian
              leaders joined the Contras in the 1980s to fight Ortega's government for
              autonomy, he signed a pledge to grant them exactly that if elected.

              ``You were not wrong. We were wrong,'' Ortega said in a speech to Miskito
              Indians in the town of Waspam. ``We ask forgiveness from our Miskito
              brothers ... from everyone who fell victim to the misguided politics we had in
              those days.''

              Ortega says he wants forgiveness as well from his other opponents --
              including the United States -- and that he is ready to put aside his resentment
              so he can work with others to bring prosperity and justice to Nicaragua.

              ``I think it's healthy to learn to live with those who don't think like you,'' he
              said, adding: ``It isn't easy, especially with people who have killed your
              people.''

              But he said Washington appears reluctant to give him a second chance. The
              United States has warned of serious consequences if Ortega is re-elected,
              and in May the State Department quietly urged other parties to rally around a
              single candidate, so as not to split the anti-Ortega vote.

              ``The people (Bush) has named to head his Latin American politics are the
              same people who were there with Reagan,'' Ortega said. ``I hope they have
              changed, but I doubt it. They still treat us as if we were in the Cold War.''

              Ortega readily criticizes his own presidency, saying he should have done
              more for Nicaragua's poor peasants and Indians, in whose name he fought
              his revolution. He also says he no longer believes in armed struggle and that
              he erred in repressing his opponents.

              ``Before, we thought that we had to cut off all spaces for the enemy,'' Ortega
              said. ``We can't deny freedom to any Nicaraguan. Even if they are our
              political adversary, even if they are our worst enemy, we can't deny them
              their rights.

              ``That's a new philosophy.''