Cranston presidential bid may be announced soon

Alan Cranston is assistant Senate Democratic leader, an avid runner, and a liberal. Soon he may also be the first-announced Democratic candidate for president.

''The chances are very, very good he has made the decision to go, and, if he decides to go, he will make an announcement soon after the (November congressional) elections,'' a top Cranston aide in Washington said. A major factor in a Cranston decision to run might be the fact that no one appears to have the party's 1984 presidental nomination locked up.