Clinton Makes Appeal to Conservatives in California : Politics: Democratic candidate stresses balanced budgets and welfare reform during Riverside County trip. He takes hard line on Iraq.

He talked about cutting government waste and balancing budgets, about reforming the welfare system and making the tough choices.

Sounding like Ronald Reagan and George Bush in their forays to the Republican strongholds of inland California, Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton strode through Riverside County on Sunday oozing conservatism.

“I’m a Democrat who believes in the line-item veto and believes in cutting out wasteful government spending,” Clinton said. “George Bush talks about how conservative he is--I’ve balanced 11 government budgets, and if you give me a chance, I’ll cut the deficit a lot more than he will.”

Entering a state reeling from the national recession and a stalemated state budget crisis, the Arkansas governor focused on the economy Sunday as he greeted several thousand Californians gathered in an Ontario park.

It was Clinton’s first visit to the state since his primary victory here clinched the nomination, and his campaign intentionally selected this area, where sure as the sun beats down mercilessly the voters vote Republican.

The Democratic nominee was mindful of that tradition, accenting the parts of his economic plan that would most appeal to the fiscal conservatives in the crowd.

“It’s not going to be simple, it’s not going to be easy,” Clinton said. “We’re going to have to cut some spending that’s unnecessary.

“We’re going to have to change the welfare system as we know it and make it a second chance, not a way of life--not to punish people but because nobody wants to be dependent on government forever,” he said.

Although the economy emerged as a consistent thread in Clinton’s speech, as it does in many places, he dealt with general themes more than detailed proposals.

He did not, for example, say where he would cut spending. And while he boasted of balancing 11 Arkansas budgets, he did not explain that he is required to do so by law.

Clinton also did not address the state budget crisis that has had California’s Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and the Democrat-controlled Legislature fighting for weeks.

In comments to reporters after his speech in Ontario, Clinton expressed regret at California’s economic woes but said they have laid the groundwork for a change in presidential leadership.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people here who have been victimized by defense cuts without a conversion strategy,” he said. “They don’t want more bureaucracy, expanded government for the sake of expanded government. But they do want a different approach.

“They really believe that government has a responsibility in the world we’re living in to help the country compete and to help it generate high-wage jobs.”

Delivering that message to the Republicans in areas like Riverside and San Bernardino counties is central to Clinton’s chances of victory here. The Arkansas governor said Sunday that a California victory depends on “the pro-change vote.”

“California, I think, desperately wants to vote for sensible change,” Clinton said.

Clinton was greeted at Ontario International Airport by Democratic Senate nominee Dianne Feinstein, who introduced him to the crowd at Galvin Park. After his speech, he played an inning of softball at the park as cameras and reporters trailed his every move. His box score: a long foul ball and a base hit to left.

The afternoon’s activities were a marked contrast to the somber tone Clinton had adopted earlier in the day, when he was campaigning in Seattle as the United Nations was considering an accord with Iraq over disputed cease-fire requirements stemming from the Gulf War.

Clinton expressed relief at the accord, but he issued what amounted to a warning about Saddam Hussein’s intentions.

“We can’t rule out any options,” he said. “Basically, he’s one of those people you give him and inch and he takes a mile, and he’s been doing that for about a year and now we’re just going to have to be very firm and work out full compliance,” he told reporters as he left Seattle for Ontario.

The Arkansas governor said the Bush Administration has offered him a national security briefing, as is customary for presidential nominees. Clinton said he has accepted the offer, but the timing of the briefing is uncertain.

Clinton’s running mate, Tennessee Sen. Al Gore, met with Iraqi dissidents after his first solo campaign appearance in Arlington, Va.

“We should not look forward to a continued cat-and-mouse game with Saddam Hussein,” Gore said during a news conference before flying back to his home in Carthage, Tenn. “We should, in my view, organize support for the forces of democratic resistance inside Iraq. Our goal should be hastening the end of the regime of which Saddam Hussein is the ruler.”

Earlier, Gore joined Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin at a rally to celebrate the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Clinton’s trip to the West began Saturday in Spokane and Seattle, where he held outdoor campaign rallies like the one in Ontario. Late Saturday, he was the guest at a “town meeting” televised by Oregon and Washington stations.

One questioner pressed the Arkansas governor about unsubstantiated accusations of infidelity that dogged him early in the primary season.

“I have talked about my personal life more than anybody who has ever run for President, and I have answered questions that this President has never been asked personally--that no one else who has run for President has been asked,” Clinton said.

“I have been treated to a double standard and I have handled it with dignity,” he added, drawing applause from 120 people gathered in the Seattle television studio. “I have told you all I think you’re entitled to know.”

Earlier this year, Clinton and his wife, Hillary, acknowledged that they have had problems in their marriage. Without being more specific, they said they had resolved their troubles.

Clinton also was asked his position on doctor-assisted suicide--which he said he could not support.

Clinton begins campaigning today with a speech to the Urban League in San Diego, after which he will speak to computer company employees in Cupertino and hold an outdoor rally in San Francisco. He leaves California early Tuesday.

Staff writer Sam Fulwood III, in Virginia, contributed to this story.