President Fights for Votes in O.C.

President Clinton, buoyed after the final debate with rival Bob Dole, battled for votes in the Republican heartland of Orange County on Thursday, and implored supporters not to forget about voting on election day.

“Now this election is 19 days away,” a smiling Clinton told a large, enthusiastic crowd in front of Old County Courthouse. “And they always tell you when you’re 19 days away, just come in like this, give a whoop-de-do speech, talk three minutes, leave, no more issues.

“But I’m telling you, the big question in 19 days is: Who’s going to show up? Are you going to show up? Are you going to show up?” In addition to the overt get-out-the-vote pitch, Clinton also used the occasion to tout the candidacies of two Democrats, who are challenging Republican incumbents in the Assembly and Congress, whose districts include Santa Ana.

Those candidates--Loretta Sanchez, who is running against Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), and Lou Correa, who is challenging Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana)--addressed the rally prior to the president.

One of the reasons Clinton chose the conservative bastion of Orange County for his post-debate foray was to underscore an effort to appeal to key swing voters in a GOP stronghold where he did well against George Bush four years ago and, polls indicate, is running even with Dole.

The visit to Southern California comes at a time when Clinton and his advisors are focusing harder on the makeup of Congress next year, and devoting more effort to other Democratic candidates. The president attended a Democratic fund-raiser at Universal City on Thursday night, one of three events this month intended to raise at least $10 million, much of which will go to House and Senate hopefuls.

The generally upbeat day for Clinton began less auspiciously. As the president slowed down after a jog on the beach near the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego, a woman came within about 30 yards and began hurling insults, calling him “a draft-dodging, yellow-bellied liar.”

Secret Service agents approached as the woman kept it up. The heckler identified herself as Valerie Parker, 32, of Bloomington, Ill. The Secret Service did not detain her and Clinton returned to his hotel after his jog.

The mood was decidedly friendlier in Santa Ana, despite a few Republicans in the crowd. Clinton shared the Orange County spotlight with an array of California Democrats, including Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, but reserved a special plug for Sanchez.

“I was watching Loretta Sanchez give her speech, and I thought, boy, I’m glad she’s not running against me,” Clinton said, prompting laughter. Earlier, Sanchez had sparked applause when she told Clinton: “Mr. President, just as you know we are going to defeat one Bob, I am telling you that we are going to defeat another Bob.”

Polls have shown the presidential contest a tossup in Orange County, although Clinton enjoys a double-digit lead statewide, most often placed in the low teens. Clinton beat George Bush in California in 1992, although Bush prevailed in Orange County by 120,000 votes.

“When I came to Orange County in 1992, many people said, ‘Why are you going there--it’s the most Republican County in the country,’ ” Clinton recalled Thursday. “And I said, ‘Because I’m trying to change our country, and Orange County has got to be a big part of America’s future.’ That’s what I believed then, that’s what I believe now.”

Meanwhile Thursday, top aides prepared for a White House meeting with the president today to decide on where to concentrate their time and effort in the days before the election, Chief of Staff Leon A. Panetta said in an interview with Times reporters and editors.

The Democrats will increase their spending in California to keep up with Dole’s plan, announced Thursday, to advertise more heavily here, Panetta said. Beyond that, however, they face a decision on whether to pour more resources into traditionally Republican states in the hopes of capturing the widest possible mandate for Clinton, or to devote more time and money to helping congressional candidates running in marginal districts in states where Clinton is already far ahead.

Florida, Arizona, Nevada and Montana are among those the Clinton campaign will “look very seriously at,” Panetta said--listing several states that Republicans used to be able to take for granted.

Clinton has long viewed the Golden State and its bounty of 54 electoral votes as a key element in his reelection. This week’s visit is the president’s 28th to the state. On Thursday, Clinton summoned time-honored political ammunition in the quest for votes, gesturing toward a 10-story, $128-million federal court building that may open next year. The president said he wanted to thank Roger W. Johnson, a former Republican and a resident of the county who had worked in his administration, for helping move the “magnificent” building forward. Clinton also said that his push to put more police on the street had brought 54 additional officers to the area.

“There has never been a partnership between the national government and the people of any state like the one we have forged over the last four years,” he said. “A lot of it was born of necessity, of earthquakes and fires and floods, of the economic dislocation caused by defense cutbacks, of the terrible recession you were facing when I came here.

“But little by little, day by day, month by month, we worked together to meet the challenges the people of California faced. And look at the difference four years can make.”

Clover Tinsley, 89, of Laguna Hills turned out to hear Clinton and offered that “if he had people in Congress who agreed with him, I think he could get some things through.”

Asked about Dole’s recent attacks on White House ethics, she responded with a question of her own: “What kind of person hasn’t done something wrong? Everybody’s done something wrong when they’re young. It’s unquestionable.”

Of Dole, she added, “I think he has a bad manner about him, kind of a nasty manner.”

After the Santa Ana rally, Clinton helicoptered to the 10-acre Mediterranean-style Beverly Hills estate of Ron Burkle, chairman of the Ralphs supermarket holding company, for a luncheon fund-raiser. About 200 guests attended, including House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo)., Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) and supporters such as boxing promoter Don King.

Meanwhile, the Clinton-Gore campaign Thursday released a new advertisement that features James S. Brady, the former White House press secretary who was shot in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, backing up Clinton on the issue of character and lauding him for resisting the gun lobby. The ad includes footage of the assassination attempt, Clinton’s aides said.

Clinton’s encounter with the heckler near San Diego occurred as he was surrounded by four Secret Service agents and a tourist from Winter Park, Fla., who had asked to jog alongside the group. Clinton looked puzzled and sported a wry grin but kept running as Parker screamed, “You’re a disgrace to the office of the president, to your gender, to this nation!” She added that Clinton is “a draft-dodging, yellow-bellied liar” and a “sex harasser.”

Joseph Perez, special agent in charge of the San Diego office of the Secret Service, said that the encounter was unplanned and that the woman acted spontaneously when she looked up and saw Clinton jogging by.

“Nothing she did was contradictory to law. She was not a threat and she made no move at the president. If she had, our people would have taken action,” he said.

The Florida tourist, Mark Skousen, a financial newsletter writer and Libertarian, jogged with Clinton for more than a mile. The president engaged in light banter, trying to convince Skousen to become a Democrat.

“It was very civil,” Skousen said.

* BETTING ON CALIFORNIA: Dole attacks illegal immigration, shifts ad funds to state. A3

* BRUSH WITH LEADER: Thousands flock to Santa Ana to see the president. A17

* TARGETING SWING VOTERS: O.C. stop meant to aid turnout, woo Clinton Republicans. A18