DEMOCRATS GRAPPLE WITH BUSH VICTORY.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

As George W. Bush was officially chosen president Monday by the nation's Electoral College, the fight began in California over how Democrats should respond to the Republican takeover of the White House.

``There's going to be a lot of debate for a long time about this,'' said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick. ``The truth of the matter is, however, that this was a very close election that showed where the Democrats have problems and where the Republicans have problems.

``Usually, one party or the other is able to break through and win decisively. That didn't happen here.''

Some analysts have criticized the campaign of Vice President Al Gore as being too liberal and breaking away from the centrist views of President Clinton in his two national elections.

But the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Monday during a Los Angeles news conference that there is no need to change the focus of the party. Gore ran his campaign to appeal to more liberal voters, Jackson said, rather than the centrist campaigns of President Clinton.

``He won the most votes, didn't he?'' Jackson said. ``In Florida, we did not have a fair game. They used tactics of delaying to deny. Mr. Gore believes he won the count. Mr. Bush believes (Gore) won the count. Every vote should count.''

But Garry South, who managed the successful campaign of Gov. Gray Davis, said he wondered why Gore shifted away from Clinton's politics.

``We have developed a tried-and-true formula for winning elections - one we adopted and used in (Davis') campaign,'' South said. ``This was not some fly-by-night, spur-of-the-moment strategy. It was developed over 20 years of effort.

``All things being equal in this country, if you take a Democrat who is progressive on social issues - the environment, a woman's right to choose, gun control - and strong on national defense, crime and public safety and fiscal responsibility, the Democrat is going to win. What I saw in this campaign was a candidate who sounded more like William Jennings Bryan than William Jefferson Clinton.''

Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, said the more important issue is making sure there is a fair counting system.

``I don't think you can fault the overall campaign since Gore did get 300,000 more votes,'' Torres said. ``Where there was a problem is Gore not being able to carry his home state of Tennessee.''

Jackson said he believes the Democratic Party must continue to push for affirmative action, abortion rights and wage increases that were advocated by Gore.

``What the Democrats need to do, in their first piece of legislation, is to put in a law involving hate crimes,'' Jackson said. ``Everyone is against hate. We cannot allow hate crimes to continue.''

Such a measure also would be a test for Bush, who came out against similar legislation in Texas during his campaign, saying existing laws are able to deal with such crimes.

Jackson also issued a strong denunciation of the U.S. Supreme Court and its decision to stop the recount of Florida ballots.

``What you have, in effect, is a coup d'etat here by the U.S. Supreme Court,'' Jackson said, complaining specifically about remarks attributed to Justice Sandra Day O'Conner published in Newsweek Magazine, where she complained, ``This is terrible,'' about initial projections showing that Gore had won Florida.

``She should have recused herself,'' Jackson said.

While Jackson said he and others recognize the ``legality'' of Bush's election, they do not recognize its ``legitimacy.'' That is the reason for a series of protests planned in cities around the nation beginning on Jan. 15 to coincide with the Martin Luther King holiday.

``We want to express our moral outrage,'' Jackson said. ``We are marching in the spirit of Dr. King. We are marching to say our votes must count. It will get a week of moral outrage . . . that every vote should count. If it can happen in Florida, it can happen in California.