BUSH CALLS ON L.A. GOVERNOR SAYS HE'LL TAKE STATE FROM GORE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

BURBANK - As polls showed him narrowing the gap in California, Texas Gov. George W. Bush stumped here Monday with a rally in Burbank, predicting he would defy the pundits and take the Golden State's prized electoral vote.

``There's going to be a lot of shocked people on November the 7th,'' Bush told a cheering crowd of several hundred GOP loyalists at the Hilton Burbank Airport.

National polls have placed Bush behind Vice President Al Gore by 5 to 10 percentage points in California, although the gap has narrowed recently. Bush and the Republican Party expect to spend more than $5 million here by the election. And while Gore's campaign has not bought any television ads in the state, the Democratic Party recently paid for radio ads and mailers to California voters.

By campaigning in Southern California and Fresno on Monday, rather than in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida, Bush is making a last-ditch effort to turn the tide in California, analysts said. In doing so, he succeeded in pulling Gore away from those key states, they said.

Bush did reach the living rooms of those battleground states, however, by taping a brief appearance on ``The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' before heading up to the Central Valley.

All of which is forcing Gore to make a previously unscheduled visit to Los Angeles today, where he'll also schmooze with Leno and then head to a ``block party-style'' rally in Westwood with celebrities Whoopi Goldberg and Cher.

California has 54 electoral votes, or one-fifth the total needed to capture the presidency.

During Monday's rally, Bush said the race was fundamentally about differences in philosophy over the role of government in American life.

``I'm running against a man who trusts Washington with the decisions in your life,'' said Bush, who entered the rally to the Van Halen tune ``Right Now.'' ``Ours is a campaign that trusts the people.''

Monday's rally, officially an event organized by the Republican National Committee, also served to shore up support for a half-dozen GOP candidates in local races for Congress and the state Legislature.

Candidates speaking at the event included actor Jerry Doyle, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills; U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell, who's challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein; and Assembly candidates Craig Missakian and Susan Carpenter-McMillan.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, Bush's primary foe, appeared by the governor's side at the rally, touting him for planning to improve the military.

``We will have a steady hand at the tiller, my friends,'' McCain said. ``And the morale and the readiness of the men and women in the military will be restored.''

The rally was Bush's 17th visit to California during the campaign.

Gore campaign spokesman Peter Ragone said the vice president has visited the state 15 times during the campaign and 90 times total while in office. He added that Gore and the party's commitment to California was demonstrated when they chose Los Angeles to host the Democratic National Convention in August.

``We're confident that Californians are going to reject Gov. Bush's anti- choice, anti-environment agenda,'' Ragone said. ``The fact is that he's not in sync with California voters on the issues. You cannot offer a gargantuan tax cut for the rich at the expense of programs like Head Start and be in sync with California voters.''

The event was held in the district of U.S. Rep. James Rogan, R-Pasadena, locked with state Sen. Adam Schiff in the costliest congressional battle in the nation. Rogan was absent from the event, however, because Congress is still in session, and his name was barely mentioned from the stage.

The event was moderated by Ben Stein, the Comedy Central game show host who once served as an aide in the Nixon administration.

Allan Hoffenblum, a GOP political consultant based in Los Angeles, said Bush is doing well enough nationally that he could afford to take two days away from the battleground states to honor commitments to help California Republicans.

``You can only spend so many days in Wisconsin,'' Hoffenblum said. ``With jet airplanes today, two days in California is not going to all of a sudden lose every battleground state in the Midwest.

``He's going to those areas where you have embattled Republican candidates, where the better Bush does, the better the Republican candidate does. He's basically fulfilling a commitment.''

Following the rally, Bush appeared on the ``Tonight Show'' to poke fun at his own tendency to mangle syntax.

The show opened with Leno about to light a candle in a big Halloween jack-o'-lantern.

``You can't do that,'' Bush said, saying the material was highly ``flammabbabble.''

``I think the word you want, governor, is flammable,'' Leno corrected.

Bush pointed to a sign on the studio wall that read: ``Warning: Highly Flammabbabble.''

``You know, sometimes my mind gets ahead of my words, if you know what I mean,'' Bush told Leno later.

At one point, Leno, noting that Halloween is today, reached beneath his desk and put on a Bush mask.

``That's scary, but this is more scary,'' Bush said, donning a Gore mask.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Gov. George W. Bush, above left, jokes with talk show host Jay Leno during Monday's taping of ``The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'' At right, the GOP hopeful sports a mask of political rival Al Gore, while Leno dons a Bush mask during the show's taping in Burbank.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

(3 -- color) Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush speaks to party loyalists at a rally Monday at the Burbank Hilton. Sen. John McCain, from left, his wife, Cindy, and Laura Bush appear with him.

(4 -- color) Supporters cheer Texas Gov. George W. Bush during his campaign appearance Monday at the Burbank Hilton.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer