ANALYSTS CALL SPEECH VAGUE, PARTISAN GOVERNOR'S ATTEMPT TO RALLY SUPPORT COMES AS BACKING FADES FAST IN POLLS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Gov. Gray Davis' attempt to shift the focus of the recall election debate away from himself Tuesday got poor reviews from political analysts and harsh criticism from those who seek to replace him in the Oct. 7 recall election.

While the governor attempted to rally Democrats and union supporters in a speech from UCLA that was broadcast across the state, opponents questioned his sincerity. Analysts wondered how his blaming Republicans would help him win a majority of voters to reject recall.

``It didn't seem all that focused to me,'' said Arnold Steinberg, a GOP strategist not involved in any of the campaigns. ``It was a speech that meandered and didn't try to deal with one issue.

``I thought he was trying to deal with too many things. At one point, he tried to appear like a statesmen, the next he was being highly partisan, and then he went on to deal with other issues.''

Democratic consultant Richard Lichtenstein, who also is not involved in any campaign, said the problem Davis has had in the past and the challenge he faces now is focusing.

``He has to stick to one message to get his people to vote for him,'' Lichtenstein said. ``If he does that, he has a chance. I'm not sure he can do it.''

Polls have Davis' support slipping, with the most recent Field Poll showing 58 percent favor the recall.

GOP candidate Bill Simon, who lost to Davis last December, said he believed the governor failed to shift the debate.

``It's the same old thing,'' Simon said. ``We expected him to apologize for his mistakes and all we heard was finger-pointing at the Bush administration and Republicans and excuses.

``All Gray Davis did is duck, dodge and evade responsibility.''

Another candidate, state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, the top Republican vote-getter on last year's statewide ballot, said he felt Davis had helped the recall movement with his remarks, rather than blunt the campaign.

``It was typical Gray Davis - long on accusations and short on solutions,'' McClintock said. ``I didn't hear an apology from him.

``And this speech was his opportunity to point the state in a different direction with everyone watching and I think he missed that opportunity ... he's going back to that tired argument of it being a Republican conspiracy. Well, the campaign of (Democratic Lt. Gov) Cruz Bustamante shows that isn't true.''

Bustamante, who launched his own campaign earlier Tuesday and has been rapidly distancing himself from Davis, did not watch the speech and had no comment when told of the governor's remarks, aides said.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose entry into the campaign dwarfed the candidacies of others, did not watch the governor's speech as he prepared for an economic summit scheduled today, an aide said.

Spokesman Sean Walsh, however, said he has a sense that Davis was desperate in his remarks.

``I don't think his comments reflect the reality of the moment,'' Walsh said. ``He didn't address the issues that most people care about and it shows he does not understand the fundamental concerns of Californians.''

Businessman Peter Ueberroth would not comment on the governor's speech as part of his policy to not criticize opponents.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Gov. Gray Davis talks with supporters after delivering a speech at UCLA on Tuesday.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer