BY MARK SILVA

 Vice President Al Gore's support for a legislative move that brings him closer to
 the prevailing mood among Cuban Americans in the immigration battle over Elian
 Gonzalez may carry political benefits in Florida, but it has provoked criticism from
 other quarters of the country for ``pandering.'' The vice president, whose spokesmen
 disclaimed political motivation, took a barrage of criticism on the editorial pages of
 major newspapers from coast to coast Friday -- the morning after he broke ranks
 with the administration by saying he supported proposed legislation in Congress to
 give the child permanent residency status in the United States.

 ``Shame on Gore,'' The Los Angeles Times opined.

 ``This is purely a political maneuver, designed to enhance his appeal in Florida, a
 crucial state in November,'' The New York Times declared.

 GORE'S CHALLENGE

 At the same time, Gore's inability to persuade the Clinton administration on the
 course of action he wants for Elian handed his Republican rival, Texas Gov.
 George W. Bush, another opening for challenging the vice president.

 ``Al Gore's sudden change of position yesterday may have had more to do with
 the vice president's political interests than with the best interests of Elian
 Gonzalez,'' Bush said Friday, campaigning in Wisconsin.

 The Gore campaign downplayed criticism and insisted that Gore is seeking what
 is best for the boy.

 ``You can expect some who disagree to call it political, but he felt it was the best
 thing to do in the interest of the child,'' Doug Hattaway, a Gore campaign
 spokesman, said Friday. ``It's clearly a tough issue that many people disagree
 with, so it was not an easy political call.''

 IN THE COURTS

 Gore ``feels that the best place to resolve this matter is in the courts,'' Hattaway
 said. ``He felt this measure would help accomplish that, and we'll let the chips fall
 where they may.''

 Political observers suggested that Gore may face a no-win proposition because
 opinion polling has shown a dramatic contrast between the views of South
 Florida's Cuban American voters, on the one hand, and voters elsewhere in the
 country.

 ``Gore is kind of getting it in the chops coming and going on this thing. He can't
 win,'' says Bill Ballenger, publisher of Inside Politics, a Lansing, Mich., newsletter
 in one of the Midwestern states where the presidential election will be most hotly
 contested.

 ``On the one hand, what he did has led to the kind of pasting he is taking in the
 editorial pages,'' Ballenger says. Yet ``people realize that any Democrat in Florida
 is getting to be an endangered species. My own feeling was that this was the nail
 in the coffin when this [Elian] thing blew up. If the Democrats had any chances in
 Florida, forget it.''

 LA TIMES SLAM

 In an editorial terming Gore's proposal as ``pandering,'' The Los Angeles Times
 approached the call for residency for Elian, his father, his stepmother,
 half-brother, grandmothers and grandfather by asking: ``What will Gore suggest
 next, asylum for the entire island?''

 In the long run, some say, such criticism will not harm Gore -- who indeed may
 count on the same newspapers to endorse him. ``He doesn't need to worry about
 editorial pages. He'll have the editorial pages,'' says Maurice Carroll, director of
 polling at Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald