The Austin American-Statesman. Jan. 6. AP. Thursday, January 6, 2000

• Gary Bauer: Sending Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba would be ``scandalous.'' The boy's mother ``voted with her life to get freedom for her son. We don't know what his father would do, but we know what his mother's intentions were.''

• Bill Bradley: ``When I first heard about this situation, I thought Elian Gonzalez should stay in the United States, but I'm not going to second-guess the INS.''

• George W. Bush: ``That's a mistake. What ought to happen is the Cuban boy's father should come to America. He ought to get a taste of freedom, and then he ought to make his decision on what's best for his boy. I don't trust Fidel Castro. I'm not so sure this man (the boy's father) is making the right kind of judgment in the right kind of circumstance, and I think it's a mistake for the INS to send the boy back to Cuba.''

• Steve Forbes: ``We caved because Clinton wants to have a new policy with Cuba, and he's afraid Castro would get mad at him if he didn't return the boy. The boy was in the custody of his mother and stepfather. They made the decision to come to the United States, and since they died in the effort, he should have been allowed to stay with his family here in the United States.''

• Al Gore: ``The vice president believes that whether people agree or disagree with the INS decision, we should all be able to agree that what is paramount here is the life of a child, not politics,'' Gore spokesman Tom Rosshirt said. ``This child should never have been put in a position where the choice is between his freedom and his father. The vice president believes the real fault here lies with Fidel Castro.''

• John McCain: ``It's a great tragedy. This young man's mother gave her life in the effort to gain him freedom and now the United States government is sending him back to a life under communist oppression. His father could have come to the United States or another neutral country and then declared his desire for his son to return to communist oppression and repression.''

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