Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman drew a chorus of boos from the capacity crowd at a major women's gathering Tuesday after going on the attack against Democratic opponent Jerry Brown and refusing to withdraw negative television ads, as Brown said he would, for the rest of the campaign.

The raucous scene took place at California first lady Maria Shriver's annual Women's Conference, where the two candidates appeared onstage with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before a mostly female crowd of 14,000 at the Long Beach convention center. The conversation was led by "Today" show host Matt Lauer.

Brown and Whitman were met with cheers at the start of the hourlong event, which was their only appearance with Schwarzenegger. The exchange was probably their last face-to-face encounter before Tuesday's election. Recent polls show Whitman falling behind Brown in the race.

Midway through their appearance, Lauer threw the candidates a curve when he described the race as one of the most contentious ever and challenged them to drop their highly personal attack ads.

"End the negativity," he said, to cheers from the crowd. "Pull your negative ads and replace them with positive ads," he added, to give California voters "a break."

Brown, the state attorney general, said, "If Meg wants to do that, I'll be glad to do it. ... I'll pledge that right now."

No agreement

Whitman, however, appeared uncomfortable and demurred, saying she had been a victim of campaign "character attacks." The former eBay CEO said some of her ads were designed to point out differences between her and Brown on policy issues, while others highlighted his record as a former two-term governor and Oakland mayor.

"People need to know where I stand," she said of her TV spots, which have lambasted Brown in recent weeks as a tax-raiser and a poor administrator in Oakland. "I'm not doing it in a mean-spirited way."

Brown, who served as governor from 1975 to '83, responded: "I got a great ad. It starts off with Meg Whitman saying, 'I moved to California 30 years ago' ... because there was all this opportunity - and who was governor?"

Whitman then attacked Brown, prompting boos from several members of the audience.

"Jerry Brown, in many ways, left this state in worse shape," she said, trying to talk over the crowd's jeers. "People of California have seen him up close and personal for years ... (they) said 'no.' "

Governor takes charge

Schwarzenegger took charge and tried to change the tone. "It's our conference," he said sternly, in a reference to himself and Shriver.

He turned to the audience and said Whitman and Brown have something to offer voters in the state.

Whitman "will make history" if she becomes the first woman governor in California, he said. Brown's family helped build the infrastructure of California, Schwarzenegger added, and he "has been a public servant all his life. ... I think that he did a great job as governor."

Schwarzenegger, who appeared onstage first, was met by a standing ovation from the audience, and said he had no regrets about his decision to set aside his movie career to spend seven years in office.

As his last term comes to an end, he said, "Besides marrying Maria, I think this was the best decision that I've ever made."

When Lauer asked Schwarzenegger what advice he would give to Brown or Whitman, the governor said "politicians should stop fighting; people are sick and tired of politicians accusing each other of things." Candidates should "go out and talk about what is the vision for the future of California," he said.

Schwarzenegger also was asked to grade himself on a scale of 1 to 10 on how well he "walked the political ground." Schwarzenegger said: "I give myself a straight 10."

"You see people going further and further to the right and the others further and further to the left," he said of the Legislature. "They couldn't accomplish anything this year." Schwarzenegger cited pension and budget reform as some of his biggest achievements this year.

Lauer noted that Schwarzenegger has said he will not make an endorsement in the governor's race.

"Most of the time when you are in your last year, they call it the lame-duck governor," Schwarzenegger said. "I have no patience for this stuff."

He said that with so many things still to accomplish in California - including more budget reform, establishing a rainy-day fund and ensuring that state environmental policies are left intact - "I was not about to go and disrupt that" by siding with one candidate or the other.

"It's not about me endorsing someone," he said, but added: "After I vote on Nov. 2, I will tell you."