Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides on Tuesday night at a $5 million fund-raising dinner, giving the candidate a much-needed financial - and morale - boost in his race against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"This guy's got the heart of a lion," Clinton told supporters inside the swanky Beverly Hilton, standing alongside Angelides and former pro basketball great Magic Johnson. "Please stick with him. He can win this thing."
The event, arranged several weeks ago, came a day after campaign finance reports revealed that Angelides in recent months raised more money than Schwarzenegger - but still trails his opponent by more than $3 million in available money.
"This is one of many fund-raisers that he's going to have to do to stay in the money race with Schwarzenegger," said Steve Levin, political reform project director at the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. "It's obviously going to bring in a lot of money for Angelides."
Although Angelides has been successful in receiving money from thousands of donors who contribute $1,000 or less, the multimillion-dollar fund-raisers are essential to pay for television advertisements that can cost $1 million per week - like the ones Schwarzenegger and the Republican Party have run for nearly two months.
The ads, and other factors, political analysts say, have given Schwarzenegger a healthy lead over Angelides in at least two statewide polls recently.
Clinton reminded the audience Tuesday night that he, like Angelides, was running poorly in the polls when he campaigned for president in California in 1992.
"People said I was deader than a door nail," Clinton recalled. "So let me remind you, a poll is a picture of a horse race that's not over."
It was during that '92 campaign that Angelides, as state party chairman, rallied support for Clinton and endorsed him - even before the primary - and hosted a fund-raiser at his Sacramento home.
"It brings back a lot of sweet memories of 1992," Angelides said before the event, "when we were written off, left by the side of the road."
In his 23-minute speech, Clinton frequently criticized the Bush administration for what he described as a failure in the nation's economic, health care and education policies.
California, he said, needs to improve its schools, get more students into college, which will enable them to improve the economy, buy homes and create jobs. "I trust Phil Angelides to do that," he said, repeating the refrain several times throughout his speech.
But Angelides is playing catch up. The latest financial statements showed Schwarzenegger had more than $4 million in cash available to spend, and Angelides only $726,000. During the two-month reporting period, Schwarzenegger outspent Angelides $9.8 million to $7.4 million.
Angelides during that period received fund-raising help from Clinton's wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, at a $1,000-a-person appearance July 7 in San Francisco, which was attended by more than 100 people.
During the same time, Schwarzenegger reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars from a fund-raiser headlined by former President George H.W. Bush.
Money collected from the Beverly Hills fund-raiser, which suggests donors contribute at least $500 each, will be split between the Angelides campaign and the party. An estimated 400 people attended. The event was not a sit down dinner; it resembled more a class cocktail party where Democrats walked around with their small plates of raviolis, roasted turkey and tortellini, and glasses of Mirassou chardonnay.
Johnson, former star of the Los Angeles Lakers who now encourages economic investment in poor communities, fired up the crowd when he called Angelides "a man of action, and not a man who's playing in action movies."
After Clinton's speech, he and Angelides waved to the crowd.
"I'm charged up, I'm ready to go, I'm ready for these last 99 days and I'm ready to make my case for a fair and stronger California," Angelides said, as Clinton chatted with admirers while trying to leave the ballroom.
Chuck Idelson, a spokesman for a November ballot initiative that would call for public financing of elections and restrict outside fund raising, was careful not to criticize the event but said such fund-raisers would probably not bring in as much money if voters approve the measure.
