CARSON – Saying that John McCain campaign officials encouraged her to “take the gloves off,” Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin blistered Democrat Barack Obama yesterday as someone who has such a warped view of America that he associates with terrorists.

“This is not a man who sees America as you and I see America. We see America as a force for good in this world,” the Alaska governor said in her first California campaign appearance. “We see an America of exceptionalism.

“Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.”

She was referring to William Ayers, a founder of the radical Vietnam-era Weather Underground, which claimed responsibility for nonfatal bombings at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol.

Obama, who is 16 years Ayers' junior and was a child during the Weather Underground's heyday, has served on a couple of charitable boards with Ayers and has condemned whatever radical activities he may have been involved in.

Gabriel Sanchez, Obama's California campaign spokesman, denounced Palin's comments as “lies and distortions” and said the contact between Obama and Ayers is casual and sporadic.

Palin's thrust signals another escalation in the negativity of the Republican campaign with the Nov. 4 election less than a month away and McCain slipping in the polls.

Palin said that when she began the two-day California fundraising trip, a campaign official told her to sharpen her tone. She quoted the official as saying, “OK, now, the heels are on, the gloves are off.”

Coming off a well-received debate performance with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden, Palin is again proving to be a big draw on the campaign trail.

Yesterday's rally in the tennis stadium of the Home Depot Center was attended by 20,000 people, with several thousand more in an overflow area in the parking lot, arena officials said.

Palin also attended a private campaign fundraising reception last night in Costa Mesa and will headline a similar event today in Burlingame.

A poll conducted after Thursday's vice-presidential debate showed that Palin's performance greatly improved voters' perceptions of her but did not erase doubts about her qualifications.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 84 percent of those questioned said Palin did better than they expected.

Before the debate, the poll showed that 48 percent had a favorable opinion of Palin. That climbed to 56 percent afterward.

But when people were asked if they considered Palin qualified to assume the presidency if necessary, 46 percent said yes and 53 percent said no. That is only a slight uptick from the 42 percent to 54 percent before the debate.

Count Carolyn Froning among those who were impressed by Palin's debate performance.

“I think she was great,” said the retired nurse from Brea, who grew up in rural Ohio. “I was raised in a small town, and she just resonates with us. A lot of big-city people don't get it.”

The McCain campaign still says it intends to wage a serious campaign in California, although there have been few signs of it actually doing so.

A Field Poll last month showed Obama with a 16-point lead in California, and the only McCain television commercials running in the state are part of the campaign's national ad buy.

“Those who are watching from the Obama campaign who think they don't have to worry about California, let me tell you something: We're coming to get you,” said former Secretary of State Bill Jones, McCain's California campaign chairman.