CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- It was a who's who of Cuban-Americans on Wednesday at the Biltmore Hotel, with special recognition for outgoing Gov. Jeb Bush.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., applauded Bush "for having been our friend, for having been on the side of freedom and for always having been someone who understood and loved the Cuban-American community, so much so that I today gave him the title of the first Cuban-American governor," he said.

Bush, in his formal remarks, gladly accepted the title.

"If Bill Clinton can be the first African-American president, I can be the first Cuban-American governor of the state of Florida," Bush said to laughter and applause.

Politicians from near and far praised Bush, who is nearing the end of his eight-year term. Even U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., showed up. He urged political leaders to act as a voice for Cubans and voiced his support for the Cuban embargo.

"Trading with Castro is not the way to bring about democratic change in Cuba," Brownback said.

The real reason for Bush, Brownback and everyone else's appearance was the cause of a free Cuba and concern for U.S. policy.

"The problem is not between the United States and Cuba," former Deputy Secretary of State Otto Reich said. "The dialogue that has to take place is between the Cuban government and the people of Cuba. Once that dialogue has taken place and the people of Cuba have had their liberties restored by that government, which is fully capable of restoring it, then the United States would be willing to begin a dialogue with the government of Cuba."

Not that long ago, the only group capable of drawing a crowd with the same type of political clout as the one at the Biltmore on Wednesday was the Cuban-American National Foundation. Now, the loudest voice for Cuban exile politics appears to be the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Pac.

"This group represents the entire community and is genuinely representative of the consensus of thought of the Cuban-American community, and that's why this group is so respected," U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, said.