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  JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff With seven days left until the presidential election, Vice President Al Gore spoke to more than 1,000 supporters in Westwood Village Tuesday night.

By Monique Simpson

Daily Bruin Reporter

With shining spotlights, movie stars and cheering fans, what was a presidential pep rally looked more like a movie premiere outside Mann’s Bruin theater Monday night.

After waiting nearly two hours in the crowed streets of Westwood, more than 1,000 people cheered wildly when Vice President Al Gore finally arrived.

Speaking on a makeshift stage at the corner of Weyburn and Broxton Avenues, Gore was accompanied by his daughter Kristin and “West Wing” actor Martin Sheen. The Gore campaign also paid to change the signs on Bruin theater’s marquee to read “Prosperity for All.”

“The message you are giving me is we are going to win California,” Gore told the ebullient crowd.

After appearing in Portland earlier in the day, Gore made Westwood his last stop on a two-day campaign swing on the West Coast, before heading to Florida.

“I w ant to fight for you; I want to fight for California” Gore said.

In a 20-minute speech, Gore outlined his plans for education, the environment, health care and other issues.

“We need a patients’ bill of rights to take the decisions away from the HMOs and give them back to the doctors,” he said.

Gore urged the crowd to think about their future when voting.

“The biggest choice we face is what we are going to do to keep the prosperity going,” Gore said.

Several celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Affleck and Quincy Jones were in the crowd to show their support for the vice president.

Singer and actor Cher told the crowd to vote for Gore because of his position on abortion rights.

  JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Gov.Gray Davis speaks alongside his wife Sharon before Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore appeared in Westwood last night. “I don’t want to see any women lose their right to choose,” she said.

Singer Jewel entertained the crowd with two songs before Gore took the stage.

“I never opened for a vice president before,” Jewel said. “It’s a kinda cool gig.”

In celebration of Halloween, the stage Gore spoke on was festooned with jack-o’-lanterns with glowing candles. Though the vice president wasn’t in costume Tuesday, his daughter told the crowd of a past Halloween when he donned more than a suit and tie.

“He was the dad who took me trick-or-treating,” Kristin Gore said. “He even dressed up as a big carrot when I asked him to.”

California Gov. Gray Davis and his wife Sharon also attended the rally.

“Thank you for believing in Al Gore,” Davis said.

Many students – including some from UCLA and USC – attended the rally to find out more about the presidential candidate and his ideas.

“The race has been so neck-and-neck, I wanted to come out and hear what Gore had to say,” said Magen Inglish, a fifth-year English student.

Others who were disappointed with the recent televised presidential debates wanted to see Gore in person.

“The debates, in general, seemed superficial,” said Abrey Lopez, a fourth-year psychobiology student. “They were too polite.”

Lopez also said she liked the fact that Gore showed interest in young voters by coming to Westwood.

“It’s important to come out to colleges because candidates usually concentrate on older people,” Lopez said.

Not everyone at the rally site supported Gore. A sizable group of students holding Bush/Cheney banners stood just outside the security perimeter and others – including supporters of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader and a contingent of students who passed out leaflets detailing Gore’s investments in the Occidental Petroleum Company – also listened to the vice president’s speech.

Nick Moncure, a student of California State University, Long Beach, said he plans to vote for Nader because he feels the Democrats need to reform.

“If we don’t take a stand and vote for (someone besides Gore) and make the Democratic Party bleed, then they’re never going to change,” Moncure said.

Though competition from Nader and George W. Bush and an increase in undecided voters has trimmed Gore’s lead in California, his enthusiasm Tuesday night conveyed the message that he thinks those declining poll numbers amount to little more than “fuzzy math.”

With reports from David Drucker, Michael Falcone and Timothy Kudo, Daily Bruin Senior Staff

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