Cuba and Obama

Ever since Castro’s Revolution in Cuba, the US has carried forth a policy of sanctions, travel restriction, etc. that has clearly failed. Castro is the longest serving leader in the Western Hemisphere. Despite this obvious lack of success, simply suggesting that we may need a different approach to Cuba risks South Florida exploding into insurrection. That hardcore of support for this foolish policy has been something of a Third Rail in Florida politics for a long time. To win there, you gotta get your Castro hate on in a BIG way.

I have long thought the best way to upset Castro’s applecart would be just the opposite. Think how quickly things would spin out of control there if overnight the US dropped all trade and travel restrictions. Instead of invading Cuba with Marines, we overrun the place with MacDonald’s, Coca-Cola, General Motors and a few million Cuban-Americans. I think in the short run, that strategy would definitely fatten the purse of the regime but over time, the exposure to American openness would create a yearning for American freedoms. Call me a rose-colored optimist but what we have done for the past few decades is not working.

All of which leads me to Obama’s call for easing travel restrictions and the hell he caught for it from the other campaigns, especially Hillary and Multiple Choice Mitt. Predictably, they call him naive and bang the "No talking to dictators" drum. I, however, applaud his courage for taking the smart if politically perilous position (yeah, I can alliterate). I know it is an overused cliché but dammit, we need someone who can think out of the box. More and more, I am thinking Barack Obama may be my guy in 2008.