++It is unusual for Politico, which is a Republican owned site. It's like "Let Reagan be Reagan". The article acknowledges that President Obama has done more for the environment than any president and did the single largest action on immigration of any president. Clearly yesterday's move surprised them but it allowed them to follow the logic of their story.
++Naturally, they had to get Hill reactions to this "new" Obama. The Republicans called him delusional and oblivious to the results of the last election, which means he should totally change direction toward their policies, whoever they are. Democrats are not impressed and not encouraged. They sounded like people who had just survived a train wreck. But the president keeps on moving.
++Eugene Robinson decided to write a piece in the Imperial Post taking issue with their editorial criticizing Obama's Cuba policy. Eugene who travelled to Cuba for his book on the subject thought Obama took the Castros to the cleaners and that critics have to explain how Cubans could get more freedom under the old American policy. Eugene mentions what many travelers to Cuba have found--a proud, ambitious, warm people stifled by a gerontocracy that has ground the economy into the dust while always blaming the embargo. Eugene suggests interfacing with the United States will force either directly or indirectly reforms that will ease the Cubans economic burdens and encourage a type of liberalism. Don't expect the Communist Party to disappear but it may morph into the Chinese version.
++Jimmy Carter appeared on Morning Joe to say that he was grateful to President Obama for taking "the courageous decision he did" by normalizing relations with Cuba. Jimmy Carter saw that this move would lead to a better human rights situation and would foster in the long run a democracy.
++Today in little Havana, Florida, the atmosphere was "meh", the caravan has moved on. The elected officials railed against a sell-out, a betrayal by Obama but the average person actually has their own complex relations with the island, which runs from tourism to remittances to family members. Those who have been forcibly exiled--and this has been done in the past decade--are still angry and think President Obama didn't get as many concessions as he could have gotten.
++Raul Castro said something yesterday that was interesting. he said that President Obama had sufficient executive authority to significantly modify the embargo. That's true and false. President Obama can create different types of tourists but can't wave the travel ban entirely. He can also suggest changes to the embargo for American businesses. He knows the Chamber of Commerce has pressed waives for agriculture and other businesses. As a primary funder of the GOP, President Obama can expect their support to lobby the Hill.
++The Daily Beast has a piece by Eleanor Clift on the prime candidate for the first ambassador to Cuba. He is the current charge d'affaire. A very low-key, methodical guy who played a constructive role in the negotiations. He is already at the embassy. The Washington Latin Americanists all say he would be perfect even though he is known to be incredibly dull. Dull and competent may be the best ticket here.
++Also at the Daily Beast, there is a piece picking up a theme I wrote about yesterday the threat to tourism in the Bahamas posed by an opening to Cuba.
++The euphoria about Cuba has generated some absurd articles like whether casinos will come back to the island and threaten Las Vegas. If you step back a second, you may remember this was one of the reasons for the Revolution in the first place. Think Meyer Lansky in the Godfather.
++One thing to remember. American policy until yesterday was very consistent. The present charge d'affaire has been very active on human rights as well as overseeing the democracy programs that got Alan Gross in trouble. So don't expect this will cease just because President Obama spoke to Raul Castro.
++The first few moments of the opening will be tense, even more tense than the attacks of the Republicans against President Obama. Despite the openings to Cuba and the negations in Iran, the Obama Administration has supported democracy movements in both countries. Sometimes I have disagreed with their approach but despite words like "appeasement" and "sell-out", President Obama has done neither.
++Aside from Central Europe, Cuba and Iran are the two countries in the world where the populations are most pro-American. Policy-makers know this and that is why you have such activist measures put forth by both the Democrats and Republicans. The difference is the strategy--regime change, which always has an implication of military force or "kinetic" action, or negotiation where you have a more direct access to the real civil society.
++The present-day Republican Party forgets that they were way behind in intelligence and strategy in the rise of the Central European revolutions. In fact, despite their homage to Reagan and the late embrace of people like Vaclav Havel, they were not very active in favor of even Solidarity, until John Paul II convinced Reagan they were the way to go. I suggest Reagan had to do an abrupt U-turn to support the Central European revolutions because the GOP position was to back the status quo.
++Pope Francis is playing John Paul II's role for President Obama. As a Latin American, he knows how counter-productive American policy to Cuba has been. In effect, we are being asked to tear down our own Berlin Wall. It's about time and President Obama was courageous in taking the opening.
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