By Glen Johnson, .c The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, S.C. 11 (AP) - Elian Gonzalez's mother has been portrayed as a hero for trying to bring him to the United States from Cuba, and George W. Bush isn't about the question her decision to put the 6-year-old boy on a boat.
``It's impossible to second-guess the decision of a mom, because you and I don't know what it's like to live in tyranny,'' the Texas governor and GOP presidential front-runner told a questioner Tuesday after arriving for a campaign appearance.
``It's hard to imagine somebody so hopeless, who's so sick and tired of living in a country so repressive, that you would load up your child on a boat. It shows how amazing the great beacon of America is,'' he added.
Elian was found clinging to an inner tube off the coast of Florida on Thanksgiving Day after his mother, Elizabet Broton Rodriguez, and nine others drowned while trying to reach the United States.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service ruled last week that Elian should be returned to his father in Cuba. The decision, supported by President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno, has sparked huge protests in Miami and Cuba.
On Monday, a Florida judge ordered the boy to remain in the United States until March so she can hear arguments filed by Miami relatives who are seeking temporary custody.
On issues of more local concern, Bush:
Said he hoped the South Carolina Republican Party would not hinder blacks from voting in the Feb. 19 presidential primary. State Rep. Todd Rutherford, a black Democrat, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging that state Republicans did not operate ballot boxes in many
predominantly black precincts of downtown Columbia in 1996, while opening all polling places in majority white areas.
``I would hope that would not be the case,'' Bush said when asked about the complaint. ``I would hope that it (the party) makes it easier for African-Americans to vote.''
Again refused to be drawn into the controversy over flying the Confederate Flag over the South Carolina Statehouse.
``I think this is an issue that some people've got strong feelings about, and the people of South Carolina are plenty capable of deciding. I know they can do it,'' Bush said.
AP-NY-01-11-00 1823EST
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