WASHINGTON -- Across the nation, Attorney General Janet Reno and the Clinton
 administration are facing intense pressure in the Elian saga that's the very
 opposite of the resistance that has created an impasse in Little Havana over the
 boys fate.

 Commonly held views among family law practitioners, psychiatrists and political
 observers include: What's taking so long in reuniting father and son? How can
 Reno speak fervently about the need for reunion, let deadlines slip and then take
 no action?

 Polls show a strong majority of Americans support a reunion and even the use of
 force to achieve it. According to a Gallup Poll taken April 7-9, 59 percent of those
 polled favored using force to remove Elian Gonzalez from his great-uncles home if
 the family refuses to turn him over, while 29 percent were opposed.

 Norman Ornstein, political analyst for the American Enterprise Institute, says the
 national perception is clear: ``The government can't seem to do a very simple
 thing, and they have let a soap opera become a farce.''

 A Philadelphia family law lawyer, Lynne Gold-Bikin, said the sentiment on her
 weekly talk show is overwhelming: ``This has gone on ridiculously long, the father
 is here waiting to be with his kid. Hey, are we missing something? This is a
 no-brainer.''

 Gold-Bikin said that at a recent meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial
 Trial Lawyers, 98 of 100 lawyers agreed the boy should go to his father.

 Such sentiments are not universal outside South Florida.

 VIEWS ON RULING

 Some lawyers and child psychiatrists studying Wednesdays ruling by the
 three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals approved of some aspects
 of the decision, which prevents Elian from leaving the United States.

 Tom Lyon, a University of Southern California law professor who deals with child
 neglect cases, agreed with the judges that the Immigration and Naturalization
 Service should have had professionals interview the boy.

 Maria Cardona, spokeswoman for the INS, said that cries for quick action ignore
 the tense situation in Little Havana with hundreds of protesters surrounding the
 house: ``Its easy for people on the outside to say, `Go in and take the boy,' but
 we dont want to put the safety of Elian or anyone else in Miami in jeopardy.''

 But adding to the pressure on Reno are the professionals she brought into the
 case. Dr. Jerry Wiener of George Washington University, who interviewed
 members of the Gonzalez family in Miami, told NBC Thursday that the boy needs
 to be returned to his father quickly.

 SHIFT IN URGENCY

 With Congress in recess, the battle over Elian has lost one sounding board in
 Washington, but even there the fault lines are shifting.

 In recent weeks, Sen. Connie Mack, the Florida Republican, and others who want
 to keep the boy in the United States have blasted the administration for pushing
 to remove him. Mack praised the appeals court ruling, saying it ``protects Elians
 rights from an aggressive Justice Department.''

 The judges ruling removes the urgency voiced by Mack and others that Elian was
 about to be taken back to Cuba. With the prospect of the boy being here for
 weeks of court battles, those on the other side now speak urgently.

 ``The attorney general unquestionably has the legal authority and moral
 obligation'' to return the boy to his father, said Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York
 Democrat. He added: ``By any means necessary.''

 ``Theres no good reason why he shouldnt be with his father while these other
 legal issues are dealt with,'' said Dr. Diane Schetky of Rockport, Maine, active in
 the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

 Gold-Bikin, who has headed the American Bar Associations family law division,
 said what Reno should do is simple: ``Go in now and get the boy -- get it done.''

 MAJOR CONSEQUENCES

 Ornstein, the American Enterprise resident scholar, sees ``very major'' political
 and policy consequences if the standoff does not end soon.

 ``If Reno keeps this fandango going much longer, it gets more difficult to solve and
 becomes a debacle,'' Ornstein said.

 In this falls election, ``Cuban Americans are going to be voting Republican
 anyway, but theres political danger for Al Gore with other voters if the inaction in
 this case continues,'' Ornstein said.

 Reno has weathered withering criticism throughout her seven years as attorney
 general. She said this week that she keeps her perspective by remembering the
 words of Abraham Lincoln that she keeps in her office:

 ``I intend to keep on doing the best I can, the best I know how, and I intend on
 doing it until the end. If the end brings me out right, what people said about me
 wont make any difference. And if the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels saying I
 was right wont make a difference.''