Elian's TV Chat Looks Like a Desperation Move

The ratings-at-what-ever-cost depravity of America's media culture inevitably made Elian Gonzalez the most sought-after interview since Monica Lewinsky. But the fact that the distant relatives who are trying to keep the six-year-old in Miami against the wishes of his father gave the go-ahead for ABC's Diane Sawyer spend two days with him late last week — the first installment of her interview was broadcast Monday — may be a sign of desperation. The Miami relatives had long resisted the temptation, knowing full well how badly Middle America might judge their forcing a bereaved and confused child to share his pain on TV. But with the legal tide running against them, the boy's great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez and his backers in the Cuban exile community may be gambling on more desperate measures to stop the U.S. government from implementing its decision to return the boy to his father. The segment broadcast Monday shows Elian recounting the trauma of his mother's death, but skirts the hot-button issue of where he'd like to live.

Lawyers for the Miami relatives, meanwhile, have accepted the Justice Department ultimatum to agree to an expedited appeal process. They filed papers Monday calling for a speedy ruling in their appeal against a federal judge's decision that upheld the government's ruling that the boy's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, remains Elian's legal guardian, and that he should therefore be sent home in accordance with his guardian's wishes. A decision may come within a week, but even that may not bring the matter to a close. "If they lose in the courts, the Miami family may again try to appeal to Congress to come up with some device, such as granting Elian citizenship," says TIME Miami bureau chief Tim Padgett. "If they've lost in court, Congress would be much less enthusiastic about supporting them. But the government wants to be as cautious as possible about how they proceed to send Elian home, and that creates many openings for the Miami relatives to delay the process. There'll be no surprise if they manage to drag this thing out a lot longer — and remember, you can't ignore the fact that Al Gore really needs Florida if he's going to beat George W. Bush." Even once the courts have ruled, implementing their decisions may require uncomfortable decisions from the politicians.