Clinton Wraps Up 2-Day California Visit : Politics: After golf at Riviera, the President flies to Sacramento for Armed Forces Day speech at an air base and a Democratic fund-raiser.

President Clinton on Saturday concluded a two-day trip to California that brought careful ladlings of praise for political allies and varied ethnic communities.

Or so it was planned.

Clinton seems to have erred slightly at a ceremony on Friday commemorating UCLA’s 75th birthday when he referred to the Cinco de Mayo celebration as a “Mexican Independence Day.”

In the process of hailing the different racial and ethnic groups of Los Angeles County, the President enthused about an event he said is “now as big a celebration in America as it is in Mexico, because of our diversity.”

The President got hearty applause--except from those who knew that Clinton would have to stay around Los Angeles until Sept. 16 to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day properly. That date, in 1810, is considered the day that an independent Mexico was created.

“I don’t think he was thinking of the Mexican Independence Day,” a White House spokeswoman said. “I think he was thinking more generically.”

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, in 1862, in which a group of Mexican fighters beat French forces seeking to consolidate control of the country.

While it is often confused with Mexico’s Independence Day, the distinction is important to many in the Latino community, who regard Cinco de Mayo as a symbol of a David-and-Goliath struggle against oppression.

“These are two completely different events,” said Lou Negrete, a professor of Chicano studies at Cal State Los Angeles. “It’s a common mistake, but he should have known better. Or at least his advisers should have.”

Clinton left Los Angeles on Saturday after a 5 1/2-hour golf outing at the Riviera Country Club with Mayor Richard Riordan, UCLA Chancellor Charles Young and entertainment executive Merv Adelson.

He flew on to Sacramento for an Armed Forces Day ceremony and a Democratic fund-raiser.

At McClellan Air Force Base, Clinton stood before an array of military aircraft, including the cutting-edge F-117 Stealth jet fighter, to hail the military.

“We honor your patriotism, your service and your sacrifice,” Clinton said before a crowd of several thousand people. He observed that as the nation has seen in the past year, “the simple work of maintaining peace . . . often itself is life-threatening.”

The President also said Americans should pause to remember acts of glory on D-day 50 years ago and meet today’s challenges “to keep America forever strong, and forever young.”

“This is a time when every American of every generation should pause to remember and honor the sacrifices of the airmen, soldiers and sailors of D-day,” the President said. “Their individual acts of glory and valor and their common efforts changed the course of history.”

Clinton said Congress should take a cue from the tough decisions that “our people in the military have to make when called upon to do it” and pass health care reform this year.

“The health and strength of our nation depends on it, and we should act this year,” he said.