Upbeat California Supporters Greet Perot : Politics: Prospective candidate for President visits Irvine and Sacramento. He says that volunteers have collected 10 times the signatures needed to qualify for state ballot this November.

Prospective presidential candidate Ross Perot told cheering supporters at rallies in Sacramento and Irvine on Thursday that a signature-gathering drive to place his name on the California ballot this fall has been a striking success, with volunteers collecting 10 times the number of signatures needed.

Perot said in Irvine that an army of grass-roots volunteers in California brought in 1.4 million signatures in the past five weeks and, in the process, “changed politics in this country . . . permanently.” Organizers said about 30,000 people participated in the signature drive across the state.

Under a bright blue sky at the Lion Country Center in Irvine, Perot urged an estimated 5,000 fervent supporters and curious onlookers to “take out the trash and clean out the barn” in Washington.

Although Perot and his senior advisers have promised an unconventional campaign, Thursday’s rallies had all the trappings of off-the-shelf political rallies--a brass pep band, singers, colorful hats, banners, Perot T-shirts and thousands of cheering supporters brought in by the busload from neighboring counties.

Perot himself dished up a heaping bowl of political oratory, and the crowds loved it.

At both rallies, Perot derided President Bush for doing nothing about the national debt other than hold a press conference. He made a sneering reference to the late-night television show appearance by Bill Clinton, during which the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee played the saxophone.

In Sacramento, he noted mockingly that Vice President Dan Quayle “is figuring out how to spell ‘potato.’ ” (Quayle earlier this week wrongly advised a student to add an “e” to the end of the word during a spelling bee.)

The Perot crowds in both cities were overwhelmingly white, with only a scattering of Asian, Latino and African-American faces.

In Irvine, Perot promised not to engage in racial politicking, saying that racial diversity in America “is a strength.”

Yet, he said, “every time we have an election we turn it into a weakness. We split the melting pot into all kinds of special pieces, pandering to everybody’s fears and special interests.”

Orange County marketing consultant Jack Brodbeck, Perot’s California media coordinator, said the campaign is trying to enlist more minority support. “We know this is an important outreach we have to work on,” he said. “The more we interact with minority communities, the more they like the idea of empowerment” that Perot offers, he said.

After his speech in Irvine, Perot met privately at a nearby hotel with about half a dozen gay and lesbian rights activists. The meeting, initiated by Perot supporters and not publicly announced, was apparently called to address a controversy in the gay community that Perot stirred up when he said he would not appoint a homosexual to his Cabinet.

Perot stressed to those at the meeting--including Niles Merton, publisher of the nation’s largest gay and lesbian publication, The Advocate--that he has always prohibited discrimination based on sexual preference in his own company and that he did not intend for his comment to be interpreted as anti-homosexual.

Gloria Allred, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney who also attended the meeting, said Perot’s comments were helpful, but she hoped that he would clarify his position on gay rights in a public statement.

“I think he was very clear in stating that he would not permit or condone or allow discrimination against any of his employees,” she said. “If that is his policy, it needs to be clarified.”

At the same time, however, Allred said she was impressed that Perot took time to meet with the group and that he was a good listener. She also said he was receptive to her suggestion that he name a woman as a running mate and that, while she supported Clinton in the past, she now has an “open mind.”

“This said something to me about the man--he is trying to show that he is interested in listening to people,” she said. “I’m interested in learning more about Perot.”

The gathering of Perot forces in Irvine was part political rally and part company picnic. There were carnival rides, jazz music, face-painting for kids and a giant picnic area under a striped canvas roof. Hot dogs and tacos sold for $2, soft drinks were $1.

Clowns roamed the audience making balloon sculptures. One named Cookie--a.k.a. Bonnie Copeland--even passed around a clipboard to get signatures so she could be Perot’s vice president.

“I promise a cookie in every jar,” said Copeland, dressed in a pink curly-haired wig and star-spangled dress with floppy shoes. Getting serious, she added that Perot has her vote because “I think we need a change.”

The crowd came from all over Southern California. Three busloads of people traveled from Santa Barbara. Others drove from Los Angeles and San Diego as well as the Inland Empire. They staked out their areas in the crowd with signposts.

Several of the volunteers said they joined the campaign after seeing Perot speak on a national television talk show. One of the many campaign songs performed on stage began: “Go Ross Perot, we saw you on the Donahue show.”

Gretchen Torres, a word processor at a law firm in Ventura County, said she saw Perot on the “Larry King Live” show and immediately called the campaign headquarters in Dallas. She’s worked ever since as a volunteer.

“Today, the feeling is camaraderie,” she said. “It’s like everybody here is your friend.”

Paul McGow, a 34-year-old private investigator dressed up in a red-white-and-blue Uncle Sam costume with a white beard and mirrored sunglasses, went to the Ventura County Perot office after watching the same talk show.

“I was staying up late one night and watching Larry King and I heard a down-home, folksy guy just talking,” he said. “I would say the people who have come here are people like me who are disappointed, but haven’t given up on the system.”

Tom Forrest, a 43-year-old travel service worker from Covina, wore a Perot T-shirt that said across the back: “America’s Grass-roots Revolution.” Forrest, who said he’s been a registered independent since 1978, described Perot as the one candidate who would get things done instead of just talk about them.

“Most politicians, what they stand for, is like a cloud of smoke above their heads,” he said. “You vote for them and that cloud goes away. I look at Perot as his own person. He’s going to accomplish things.”

At the Sacramento event, three protesters from UC Davis tried to yell above the crowd: “What about the issues?” But Perot could not hear them and his supporters shouted them down.

One of the students, Glenn Nunes, complained after the speech: “This man is not talking about the issues. And when he does, he just flip-flops.”

He said he specifically was seeking Perot’s views on gun control, taxes, family values and the environment. Nunes added he does not support Bush or Clinton, either. “I don’t like anybody,” he said.

Most people at both rallies seemed untroubled by Perot’s lack of definition on many major policy questions. He offered some glimpses into his goals, saying, as he has in the past, that his first task upon winning the presidency would be to rebuild the nation’s job base and “re-industrialize” America. He mentioned the need to repair the nation’s infrastructure and make American products the envy of the world.

Three Republican members of Orange County’s delegation in the state Assembly listened to Perot and said they were impressed with his performance, but none were ready to support his candidacy.

“The man has tremendous charisma and presence,” said Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach). “I’m waiting, just as everyone else is, to see how he stands on issues.”

Ferguson said he isn’t supporting any candidate these days, while his colleague, Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), said she is supporting President Bush.

About Perot, she said: “Even though he’s a billionaire several times over, he seems to be able to relate to things they care about. These people are scared and hurt in this economy, and they’re looking for someone to help them out.”

Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Santa Ana) said: “These are the same people you saw for Reagan. Why are they here for Perot? Because the national party has chosen to be a me-too party, that these people don’t understand.”

The bulk of his addresses, however, were pep talks to the troops who have been gathering petition signatures to qualify his unannounced presidential candidacy for the state ballot. California law requires that the petitions contain the signatures of 134,781 registered voters. Perot supporters began turning in their petitions to local election officials this week.

In his speeches, Perot quoted his favorite line from Winston Churchill: “Never give in. Never give in. Never. Never. Never.”

He told his fans that they were embarked on a “long, hot march,” like the journey of the pioneers across the Plains. “It’s no time for the fainthearted,” he said.

Perot also sought to answer critics who have accused him of trying to buy the White House with his billions.

“That’s right,” he said to supporters in Sacramento. “I made that deal with you because you can’t afford it.”

Perot was surrounded by police and private bodyguards as he left both rallies. His schedule said he was to have lunch with a small number of his California organizers, but Perot aides would not say where the meeting would be held.

State Democratic Chairman Phil Angelides, working the press area in Sacramento before the speech, outlined his party’s strategy for combatting the Perot phenomenon, which threatened to overshadow the Clinton campaign in recent weeks.

Angelides acknowledged that Clinton and the party “have a long way to go” to regain credibility and the trust of the American people. But he said Perot is vulnerable on a number of issues, including the environment, national health care, personal liberty for minorities and gays, and economic fairness.

He said the Democrats would not adopt the Republican tactic of trying to “dismember the guy personally.” The Democrats, he said, would try to make the case that only they can right the nation’s economic ills and do it in a way that benefits all Americans, not just the wealthy.

Times staff writers Jack Cheevers and Ralph Frammolino contributed to this report.