Former Vice President Al Gore came to Napa Saturday to raise money for the Democratic Party and the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

About 200 people paid up to $1,000 to hear the former vice president and Nobel laureate speak at Copia, his first stop in the Napa Valley. Gore then left Napa to attend a fundraiser dinner at Staglin Family Vineyard, where tickets cost about $14,000 per person. About 100 people were expected at Shari and Garen Staglin’s winery.

The two events, both of which were closed to the press, were expected to raise at least $1.6 million.

Gore, who arrived at Copia around 4:30 p.m., where he spoke at the River Court Terrace for about 30 minutes under a sign that read “Obama ‘08.”

As tourists continued to stroll inside Copia, Gore could be overheard as he hailed Obama and railed against the Bush administration’s domestic and foreign policies. Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supported those policies 95 percent of the time, he said.

George Washington ordered that enemy forces fighting against American soldiers be treated with dignity, he said at one point. But the Bush administration, which, he said will go down as one of the most misguided in the Nation’s history, instead supported torture.

“I can’t get over that,” he said. “It’s wrong.”

Gore also accused the Republican administration of doing nothing to stop climate change and of squandering the nation’s wealth.

America had the strongest economy and job growth before Bush’s election, he said. But the Republicans allowed short-term greed without restraint, he continued, before calling for the election of Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

“It’s time for accountability! It’s time for change!,” Gore said as people cheered.

Katrina Castner, 16, a junior at Napa High School, was among the Obama campaign volunteers who came to direct traffic at Copia.

Gore was impressive in his knowledge of the issues, she said.

“It was phenomenal,” said the teen, who was able to shake Gore’s hand before he was whisked away.

Dr. Peter Joseph of San Anselmo, a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility who focuses on the dangers of climate change, called Gore’s speech “great.”

“This is probably the most important election in our country’s history,” Joseph said as he left the event. “We absolutely can’t afford another four years of the failed and corrupt policies of the last eight years,” he continued, referring to the Bush Administration.

Among those who spoke before Gore were Napa Mayor Jill Techel and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a candidate for governor in 2010.

“This is an absolutely crucial election for America,” said Garamendi, as he waited to leave for the Staglin dinner.

McCain will continue the Republican economic policies — unfettered by regulation — that are ripping Americans off, he said.

“We have got to change, he said.