SACRAMENTO - After a speech at a Central Valley youth center last week, Phil Angelides headed to the air hockey table for an intense, shout-his-heart-out match against a 12-year-old Merced boy.
Minutes later, the Democratic nominee for governor raised his arms in triumph. "Arnold Schwarzenegger, take notice," Angelides told about two dozen children. "I was down 2-to-nothing, and I won 3-2."
People who know him best say this was more like the real Phil Angelides, who during town-hall-style gatherings in the valley emerged as a problem-solving, humorous, compassionate and easygoing politician - a stark contrast from his rigid persona at podiums.
The challenge now is for Angelides, 53, to take that relaxed town-hall persona and put it before the masses, a move that political strategists insist he must undertake if he has any chance to unseat his well-liked, well-funded and well-known opponent.
"In some ways, that podium is a crutch and a barrier because it blocks him from the audience, and it blocks the audience from him," said Democratic political consultant Kam Kuwata, who has advised candidates for two decades to hold town halls.
For Angelides, town halls are natural venues, Kuwata said, "because Phil knows what he wants to say," and "it feeds into his comfort level."
The town halls, each attended by dozens of supporters from Bakersfield to Merced - a territory that sends more Republicans than Democrats to Sacramento and Washington, D.C. - were the first signs of an obvious shift in the campaign's on-the-road strategy since Angelides beat Steve Westly in the June 6 primary.
It was a chance for some to get to know the candidate, and for the candidate to know them better.
"When you travel this state, I'm always amazed at how many thousands of people I meet who really care about the future of this state," Angelides said at the conclusion of the two-day tour Thursday. "They're not cynical about politics. They still believe we can do great things.
"It just charges me up."
Up close and personal
The crowds were energized too. Instead of seeing their candidate standing with both feet planted at a podium and complaining about the state's problems and Schwarzenegger's leadership, they got Angelides up close, listening to their problems and hearing solutions Angelides would propose if he were governor.
At the Richard Prado Community Center in Bakersfield, a 77-year-old military veteran with cancer stood up among the 85 or so people and urged Angelides to help keep the senior citizen meal program from closing down. "If they close this thing, most of the people my age will get sick," Martin Morin said, from a table next to a large fan that helped cool the room. "If you be a governor, I hope you help us out."
"Martin, I want to say something to you, " Angelides said, using the personal style favored by one of his political heroes, Bill Clinton. "I'm not a miracle worker, I can't promise you I'm going to cure all diseases, but here's what I can promise you: If you give me a chance to be your governor, I'll work hard to do the right things and to stand up for you."
At the next campaign stop in Visalia, Angelides heard from 83-year-old Yvonne Hull, whose "stove goes bananas" and who complained about her home warranty and insurance issues.
Moments later, Angelides turned to the 50 people seated in an oval around him and said, "By the way, how many in this room have made a claim to their insurers and the insurers just said, 'I can't wait to pay it out?' "
No hands raised, but everyone roared with laughter. "Just checking," Angelides said. "I wanted to see if I had a different experience."
Angelides, the Harvard-educated son of an engineer, who grew up in a Sacramento home where his father made him read President Lyndon Johnson's budget one year, isn't exactly known for his quick wit among the general public.
Voters see new side
What voters across California have seen lately is what Schwarzenegger and the California Republican Party, through more than $12 million of advertising, have showed: Angelides wants to raise taxes.
"Whether Angelides is standing behind the podium or in the middle of the town hall doesn't change the fact that he wants to raise taxes on hard-working Californians by at least $18 billion," said Matt David, a spokesman for the governor's re-election campaign.
What Angelides supporters typically see is the Democratic candidate addressing them in highly partisan places such as union halls, where his rants against Schwarzenegger give the impression that Angelides, a two-term state treasurer, is a combative person.
"I think when you over-script him, you're going to see that side of him," said his wife, Julie, after the tour's last stop in Stockton.
'Genuine and honest'
Daughter Megan Garcia, a campaign staffer who travels to many events in the same car as her father, said: "The best I have seen him is when he's not using prepared remarks but when he's asked a question off the cuff, and his response is genuine and honest and it comes from his heart."
At the Fresno forum, Angelides, whose associates say is often the smartest person in a room, provided a moment of humility when he deferred to a panel of experts after a 9-year-old girl with asthma wanted to know what causes her chronic inflammatory disease.
Angelides then pledged to do his part if elected governor and help clean up bad air, which he said worsens asthma.
"What I saw was an individual that was compassionate, and at the same time trying to be as pragmatic as possible," said Steve Haze, chairman of the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee. "He absolutely connects."
