Gore Goes to Fla., Leaves Elian Issue Behind

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —  Vice President Al Gore swept through south Florida Friday but said not a word about little Elian Gonzalez, the boy whose fate is the subject of passionate advocacy in this hotly contested state’s Cuban community.

“He’s made his position clear in the Florida case--he thinks it’s important to let the talks happen and let the process play out,” said Gore campaign spokesman Doug Hattaway. “He understands that people disagree with his position, but he thinks it’s the right approach and you have to let the chips fall where they may.”

Gore’s silence on the issue was in sharp contrast to the Gore of a week ago, when, in a brazen move to win Cuban American votes, he bucked his own administration by declaring that Gonzalez should be granted permanent resident status in the United States.

The turnaround reflects the tightrope Gore is walking in Florida, where he hopes to be competitive even though Republican George W. Bush is leading in recent polls. If Democrats can’t wrest the state from Bush, they hope to at least force him to expend resources to maintain his lead.

But while Gore’s position that the Cuban boy should remain in the United States plays well among Cubans, it is less popular among the seniors and Jewish voters that Gore is also wooing in the state.

Seemingly mindful of those voters, Gore devoted his public appearances in the region Friday to talking about Medicare, Social Security, the U.S. relationship with Israel and other issues. For at least one group of voters, the tactic worked.

“This was not the place for him to bring it up,” said union representative Hani Lipp, referring to the Gonzalez case. “Our issues revolve around seniors and what’s important to them.”

At two fund-raisers--one Thursday night at the opulent Palm Beach estate of personal injury lawyer Robert Montgomery and another Friday at the Fort Lauderdale home of U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch--Gore barely wavered from his generic campaign speech.

He collected $465,000 at the two events for the Democratic National Committee.

At the Thursday event, Gore once again issued a challenge to Bush to refrain from controversial campaign tactics. As he has repeatedly, the vice president suggested that both campaigns drop their television and radio advertising and replace the commercials with weekly debates.

Gore said his campaign has also asked the DNC to not use its unregulated soft-money contributions to broadcast “issue ads,” which critics consider a loophole the parties use to subvert contribution limits placed on the candidates.

“Let’s hold this in reserve and not use this for . . . issue ads until and unless the other side does,” he told the donors. “I want to keep the door open for the acceptance of reforms that John McCain called for, that Bill Bradley called for and that I am advocating,” Gore said, referring to two presidential candidates who dropped out of the race last month.

GOP officials rejected Gore’s offer.

On Friday, the vice president also stepped up calls for a new program to help seniors who face excessive expenses for prescription drugs. At a voter forum at a Delray Beach middle school, Gore repeated his plan to provide new benefits for about 3 million Medicare recipients whose annual drug bills exceed $6,500.

“I believe that we should create a new program to go alongside Medicare and Medicaid--to guarantee that every senior in America will have the means to purchase the prescription medicine that their doctor prescribes,” he said.

The proposal comes at a time when drug prices have emerged as a potent political issue. Price disparities force consumers to pay much more for prescription drugs in the United States than in Canada or Mexico.

Medicare does not cover prescription drugs, which cost the typical recipient about $1,100 a year. About one-third of Medicare’s 40 million recipients have no drug coverage at all, while others rely on a variety of private insurance plans.

In recent months there have been growing calls by Democrats and Republicans alike to create a prescription drug benefit under Medicare.

Gore recommended “price controls on unreasonable increases” in drug prices. He also called for preserving Social Security and Medicare as “a fundamental element to protect our seniors from poverty and despair.”