For Many, Chance to See a President Was Draw

To those in the crowd, the moment was once in a lifetime, a chance to see a man they had seen only on television, to be part of a true presidential happening.

Mike Wiley, 45, was there with his wife, their two sons and enough tape to conduct a mini-documentary on his video camera. But like many in Orange County who wandered over to the Old County Courthouse on Thursday morning, Wiley’s interest was rooted more in curiosity than partisan devotion.

“Am I a Democrat?” he said. “Oh, no . . . I’ll definitely vote Republican. Always have, always will. I mean, this is Orange County, isn’t it? But I respect the office of the presidency, and I wanted my boys [Spencer, 4, and Connor, 2] to see the man up close and personal. Quite a day, isn’t it?”

Most in the crowd were enthusiastic backers of President Clinton, who strolled into the heart of this Republican stronghold, waving cheerfully and vowing to continue what he called “a great partnership,” one that transcends the GOP’s “politics of blame and division.”

That was music to the ears of Wiley’s grandmother, Clover Tinsley, 89, who proudly wore a Clinton-Gore button while straining to hear the silver-haired leader of the free world over the din of a highly diverse--and at times, frighteningly pushy--throng of more than 10,000.

“What a crowd!” Clinton shouted, grinning at the hundreds of young and old who consistently rushed the stage. At times, the crowd became so excitable that it drew several sharp admonitions to move back and create more breathing room up front. One child fainted in the crush but escaped injury, authorities said, noting that there were no arrests nor any incidents of note.

“We have had a great partnership with this city,” the president said after taking the stage at 11:06 a.m., more than half an hour past his scheduled arrival time from San Diego, where he participated in Wednesday night’s debate with challenger Bob Dole.

“Among other things, our program to put 100,000 police on our streets,” he added, as binocular-wielding Secret Service agents prowled the roof of the courthouse, “has brought 54 [new officers] here, and the crime rate has gone down by 50% in Santa Ana.”

In what represented a nod to many in the crowd, Clinton thanked Tustin Mayor Tracy Wills Worley, who identified herself as a Republican voting for a Democrat, saying she would break a family tradition of more than a century to do so.

Her crossover delegation did not include Orange County Treasurer Tax-Collector John M.W. Moorlach, who quietly stood behind one of the bleachers.

“It was next door to my office,” he said. “It disrupted my work. So I thought, ‘Why not see what’s going on?’ ”

Moorlach said he blamed “Clinton’s economy” for bringing about “the rise in interest rates that bankrupted the county. He came to ground zero--not to help us, but just to campaign. I’m a little embarrassed for him.”

But on this day, Moorlach was clearly in the minority. Applause interrupted the president’s 24-minute speech 46 times. Among his fans was Maria Michel, a housewife from Santa Ana, who said she admired the president for his stands on immigration.

“He is someone who is not a racist,” said Michel, 34, who spoke in Spanish. “He is with the immigrants.”

Some, however, failed to share her enthusiasm. A handful of hecklers showed up, wielding such signs as “I Got My Pot From the President” and provoking at least one fistfight near a souvenir stand.

Clinton surprised the crowd by even choosing to acknowledge the hecklers, who were barely noticeable above the hand-clapping and cheering.

“Now I’m glad we’ve got some of our friends in the opposition over there,” he said. “I understand why they have to try to shout us down every now and then, because for them the evidence hurts. But let’s talk about the evidence and welcome them here.”

But some were having no talk of “evidence.” Among Clinton’s detractors was Brian Park, 19, a Chapman University student and member of the Young Americans for Freedom who helped promote a recent Orange County appearance by former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North.

The president is “not a liberal,” Park said. “He’s a socialist.”

The vast majority of those on hand, however, were unabashed in their enthusiasm for Clinton and talked openly of his having what they called a realistic shot at being the first Democratic presidential contender since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 to carry Orange County.

“It’s the way he talks to people--he doesn’t talk down to them,” supporter Linda McCallick, 36, said after the speech that ranged from crime to education to the possibilities of high technology. “If you saw him on the street and you didn’t know he was the president, he would be just like you and me.”

McCallick, a social worker who lives in Santa Ana, was among the thousands who began filling the downtown streets shortly before 8 a.m. and danced to pop music in the overcast hours leading up to the president’s arrival.

Speaking of music, the president’s advance team brought its own CD collection, which consisted of the Doobie Brothers, early Jackson 5, Blues Traveler, the Ventures, the Monkees and the soundtrack of the new Tom Hanks-directed movie, “That Thing You Do!”

Whatever it is that Clinton does drew Tamiko Williams, 28, a part-time student and cosmetologist from Santa Ana, to the precipice of the lectern to cheer him on.

“I am in total support of that man,” she said with a broad smile. “Carry Orange County? Of course, he will! Let’s get it on. Let’s show everybody we can do it. You know why? Because he speaks to young people, who are tired of what we’ve had around here and want a change. I believe in my heart he can do it, and that the county, like the rest of the country, is on the threshold of a wonderful change in our lives.”

But for many, it was merely the chance to see the president of the United States that had them snapping the shutters of their cameras and gesturing wildly to neighbors.

Cindy Mercado, a 10-year-old from Santa Ana, has now experienced that feeling twice.

Mercado, a fifth-grader at Pio Pico Elementary School, saw Clinton for the first time last September when he visited the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club across the street from her school.

On Thursday, Mercado quickly assessed her unique position.

“A lot of people don’t get to see him once,” she said. “I’m a very lucky person.”