Gore Takes Hits for His Elian Stand From Friend and Foe Alike

Al Gore faced a cross fire of criticism Friday over his dramatic break from the Clinton administration on the Elian Gonzalez case, with both rivals and allies questioning his motivation and conclusions.

The sharp language underscored the political risk the controversy presents for Gore as an issue in the 2000 presidential campaign.

Presumptive Republican nominee George W. Bush intensified the pressure on Gore to back up his rhetoric with action. Bush called on the vice president to “use his influence” to reverse the Clinton administration’s position in the emotional dispute over where the young Cuban boy will live.

Public Criticism From Democrats

If Gore “has influence, he ought to stand up, today, and say to the president and say to the attorney general, ‘. . . Let’s back the [immigration officials] off,’ ” Bush told students at an elementary school in Green Bay, Wis., on Friday. At the same time, Gore’s announcement that he supports legislation to shift authority over Elian’s fate from immigration officials--who say the law requires his return--to a family court drew unusually sharp public criticism from several Democratic legislators.

“I’m disappointed,” said Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), a staunch Gore supporter throughout the recent Democratic primaries. “In my opinion, it is purely political.”

Gore’s announcement raised fears even among some allies that voters will view him as pandering to Florida’s powerful Cuban American community. Such a perception could erode the gains Gore has made in recent months in strengthening his image with the electorate, some independent analysts say.

“The question is disingenuousness and whether people think he’s pandering,” says Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, an independent polling organization.

Kohut added that Gore’s position on Elian’s case “could be almost read as Clintonesque--even though he broke with Clinton.”

Clinton has called for the case to be resolved through the usual procedures followed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which has already ruled that the boy should be returned to his father in Cuba, a decision seconded by a federal district court.

On Thursday, Gore surprised the White House and other Democrats by endorsing a bill that would instead grant permanent residency status to the boy, moving jurisdiction over his fate to family court in Florida. The measure would also grant permanent residency status to six of Gonzalez’s relatives, including his father, which sponsors say would allow them to fairly express their view in a U.S. court.

“This move was designed to help reach the goal that the vice president stated from the outset: That this case would be best resolved in the courts, where the interests of the child are put first and his father and other parties could speak without fear of intimidation by [Cuban President Fidel] Castro,” said Doug Hattaway, a Gore spokesman.

Gore advisors are quick to note that such a shift to family court wouldn’t guarantee that Gonzalez would remain in the U.S.; the family court could also decide to reunite him with his father. But critics portray the legislation as a transparent effort to short-circuit the INS process and curry favor with Florida’s Cuban American voters, most of whom adamantly oppose returning the boy.

Elian was rescued after the boat in which he and his mother were fleeing Cuba capsized in November. His mother and 10 others drowned.

Virginia Chanley, a political scientist at Florida International University, says many non-Cuban American voters in Florida appear resentful of the effort to win special treatment for the young boy. “I think across the state the sentiment is: ‘Immigration has spoken and why should this person be treated differently than anyone else?’ ” she said.

Such sentiments express the political complexity of the volatile issue. Though most analysts agree that the long-term effect of Gore’s position remains uncertain, the controversy could affect the vice president’s political prospects on two levels.

The most direct effect is likely in Florida, a potentially critical state in the presidential campaign. Bush has high hopes of capturing Florida, since his brother, Jeb, now holds the governorship. But Gore has already signaled he intends to vigorously campaign in the state.

In 1996, Clinton became only the second Democratic presidential candidate since 1968 to carry Florida. If Gore can hold on to Florida’s 25 electoral votes, it would enormously complicate Bush’s hopes of assembling an electoral college majority.

Cuban Americans recoiling against GOP welfare and immigration policies helped fuel Clinton’s Florida victory in 1996: Network exit polls showed he carried more than 40% of the Cuban vote that year, compared with about one-third in 1992. Political scientist Chanley says that the intense emotions generated by the Gonzalez controversy make it unlikely Gore--even after his break with Clinton--can replicate that showing.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Gore can’t contest Florida. Cuban Americans cast only 12% of Florida ballots in 1996, exit polls found; a much bigger factor in Clinton’s victory was his dramatically improved showing among women in the state. Indeed, those polls indicate that even if Clinton hadn’t increased his share of the Cuban vote at all from 1992 to 1996, he still would have won the state. That suggests it may be premature to assume the Gonzalez controversy buries Gore’s hopes of capturing Florida--provided the situation doesn’t deteriorate further, perhaps into violence.

The broader question for Gore, who did not make any campaign appearances Friday, is whether his break from Clinton on the issue will cause voters to view him as overly political and insincere. Few are willing to predict the long-term answer with certainty, but analysts see clear risks that this incident could play into existing doubts some voters hold about Gore.

At a news conference in Green Bay, Bush struck hard at that chord. “I am concerned that Al Gore’s sudden change of position [Thursday] may have had more to do with the vice president’s political interests than with the best interests of Elian Gonzalez,” he charged.

Gore aides rejected Bush’s characterization. And they dismissed Bush’s call for Gore to lobby Clinton to change the administration position.

“Bush is trying to play politics, and we are not going to play that game,” said Hattaway.

Aligned With Bush on Issue

Gore’s announcement, in fact, brought him to the same position as Bush, who has urged that the case be decided in family court as a custody matter.

Publicly, White House officials expressed no dismay at Gore’s break. “I don’t think the president is angry at all,” said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.

That couldn’t be said for several congressional Democrats who have supported reuniting the boy with his father. Perhaps the most irate was Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who described herself on the “Today” show Friday as “just overwhelmed, surprised [and] blindsided” by Gore’s departure from the administration position.

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Times staff writers Maria L. La Ganga, T. Christian Miller and James Gerstenzang contributed to this story.