Wherever she goes he's topic

 BY BETH REINHARD

 One thing seems certain if former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno runs for governor: South Floridians will keep asking her about Elián González.

 During more than a hour of questions on Mega 103.5 FM in the radio station's Miramar studio Thursday morning, almost everyone wanted to either praise or chastise her decision to take the boy from his uncle's Little Havana home and return him to his father in Cuba.

 Reno displayed characteristic aplomb in the face of inflammatory remarks. As she was about to leave the studio, disc jockey Gino Latino said he had a ``gift'' for her, and handed her a bottle of milk. He referred to the fact that children in Cuba who are 7 or older are not guaranteed a government ration of milk.

 "When you drink this today, maybe you'll think about Elián and consider what you've done,'' he told Reno.

 She responded: "I have considered every day what I did. . . . To be vilified for returning a boy to his father is not a pleasant circumstance.''

 It was Reno's second radio broadcast and her umpteenth public appearance since she announced in May that she was thinking about challenging Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in 2002. Reno, a Democrat, showed she was not trying to avoid questions about Elián by appearing last month on WQBA, a Spanish-language talk-radio station.

 Two Democrats have officially opened gubernatorial campaign accounts -- state Sen. Daryl Jones of Miami and Tampa attorney Bill McBride. Others are expected to jump in.

 Thursday morning, Reno arrived at the Miramar offices of Clear Channel, which owns Mega 103.5 and several other South Florida radio stations, not in her red pickup truck but in a white limousine hired by the station. In between '70s and '80s pop songs, Reno responded to questions from listeners.

 Several callers just wanted to sound off.

 "How can you say you had the best interests of [Elián González] at heart when you ordered that child to be recovered like that?''

 "You did what you had to do, and many people in Florida support your decision.''

 "Elián is imprisoned in Cuba. . . . How can you say you have no regrets?''

 Reno condemned Cuban President Fidel Castro, but said, "I think the little boy should be with his father . . . I understand you believe I did it the wrong way, but I believe in families.''

 One caller who expressed hostility toward South Florida Cubans got this response from Reno: ``You are talking about Cuban Americans who are citizens and have
 contributed greatly to this country. . . . It's important that we discuss this matter thoughtfully.''

 After the interview on 103.5, Reno was shuttled among program hosts for three other FM stations who wanted to get sound bites.

 Her media tour included an afternoon interview with Rick Sanchez on his new MSNBC cable television news show. The former WSVN-Fox 7 anchor quizzed Reno on a wide range of issues, and she repeatedly portrayed herself as someone unafraid of criticism, a trait she believes would make her a good governor for Florida. ``People who are afraid to make tough decisions should not be in government,'' she said.

 Herald staff writer Terry Jackson contributed to this report.

                                    © 2001