Posted on 09/24/2004 2:20:48 PM PDT by MarlboroRed
When John Kerry prepares for his first presidential debate at the University of Miami, he'll have a sparring partner with at least a passing familiarity with Miami politics: Gregory Craig, the influential Democratic lawyer who represented Elián González's father during the custody battle over the Cuban boy.
Craig, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who earned the ire of much of Miami's Cuban-American exile community for his representation of Juan Miguel González, will play President Bush as Kerry preps for the debate scheduled for Thursday.
Craig served as a top foreign policy advisor to Sen. Edward Kennedy and a senior aide to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Craig's selection comes as Kerry's campaign seeks to woo Cuban-American voters from Bush by criticizing the administration's recent crackdown on travel to Cuba as family-unfriendly.
Three weeks ago, the campaign opened an office across the street from the Versailles Restaurant on Calle Ocho and last week it began airing Spanish language radio ads that assail the travel policy.
But Craig's appointment will probably be viewed as a misstep, signaling a campaign that is still learning its way around Florida -- and Miami's -- complicated mix of politics, just six weeks before the election.
A spokesman for Kerry's Florida campaign said Thursday night that Craig's role will be solely debate preparation.
''He has not, is not and will not be advising the campaign'' on Cuba policy, said spokesman Matt Miller. He added he could not comment on how the campaign had selected Craig and said ``it will have no effect on the campaign. Kerry has long condemned Castro for horrific human rights abuses and oppression of the Cuban people.''
The Bush administration has questioned Kerry's anti-Castro credentials, saying he has shifted stances on Cuba policy. Kerry has said he would back ''principled travel'' to the island and said Bush's new travel policy is too restrictive.
Former Cuban American National Foundation executive director Joe Garcia, who now works for a Democratic group courting Hispanics, said Cuban Americans may view Craig's selection as ''unfortunate,'' but he sought to put a positive spin on Craig's role.
''If you're going to prepare to debate someone as arrogant as the president, there is no one more arrogant and pompous than Greg Craig,'' Garcia said. ``You've got to fight fire with fire.''
Craig, who didn't return phone calls to his office, has worked since Elián's return to secure the reunification of some Cubans living on the island with their families in the U.S. And in 1986, while working for Kennedy, he traveled to the island to negotiate the release of the last two imprisoned Bay of Pigs combatants.
But during the months-long custody battle over the shipwrecked boy, Craig antagonized Miami's Cuban exile community by keeping his client in Washington, surrounded by Cuban government advocates and operatives. Hired by church groups interested in seeing the boy reunited with his father, the exile community accused him of doing Castro's bidding.
''As to fees, Satan hasn't offered yet, and there's not one nickel from Cuba,'' he said at the time.
A longtime friend of former President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton -- all three attended Yale Law School at the same time -- Craig was tapped by the president to lead his successful fight against impeachment, combining diplomatic and lawyerly qualities with the instincts of a political scrapper, observers said.
Is there any group more criminally inbred than the Democrats?
Are they really this stupid? Totally tone deaf?
It's an interesting point. I agree that Republicans have a vastly larger pool of talent from which to choose, whether it's the economy, foreign affairs, military, whatever.
Don't you love it?
Agreed, and it's a pool of "talent" not just a scummy pond.
What, is he going to have these Cubans sent back to Castro's gulags to be "with their families" as well?
Once you feed one kid into the maw of a murderous regime, you've kind of torn it with me. It is hard to rehabilitate somebody after that.
In Nature - any species that is so inbred or inept, goes insane or extinct...
We are seeing this precise scenario within the current Democrat party.
Just speak the names of the 20 top Democrats in LEADERSHIP positions within their party -- and let me know if you would trust our nation to any of them...
Semper Fi
I wouldn't trust them to lead ANY nation . . . wait, North Korea looks like a good place for them.
needs a Florida ping
Well That ought to make about 50% of the posters here happy since they were in favor of sending Elian Back
Craig was Toon's lawyer, too.
Kerry, you are so screwed. Now the only question is whether or not you're a willing patsy.
Regardless of how one felt about Elian, it is pretty incredible that these morons would turn to Craig for help, no?
That aspect of Craig's involvement escaped me, but you're so correct. Is Hilary, the puppet master behind this implosion and stupidity?
That's what I think :) And if the Dem party doesn't have the nads to stand up to the Toons, it'll deserve everything it's gonna get.
Check this out. You can't make this stuff up.
Tell him yourself:
Williams & Connolly
The Edward Bennett Williams Building
725 12th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Gregory Craig, partner
Tel: (202) 434-5506
Fax: (202) 434-5029
gcraig@wc.com
www.wc.com
BTTT.
PING................
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.