Friday, February 08, 2008
Robert Farley Gives Me Hope for Obama
by Ken Houghton
This appears to be a case when HRC varies from her husband's policy, for those who need a reminder that they are two separate individuals. And her handy wins in FL and NJ belie the sugestion that it was done as political posturing.
So let's give that one to Obama.
The idiocy of Helms-Burton and the idiotic 2003 travel embargo that followed, has done more harm to us than to Cuba. So here's one substantive case where Obama's position is clearly superior:
It is a tragedy that, just 90 miles from our shores, there exists a society where such freedom and opportunity are kept out of reach by a government that clings to discredited ideology and authoritarian control. A democratic opening in Cuba is, and should be, the foremost objective of our policy. We need a clear strategy to achieve it -- one that takes some limited steps now to spread the message of freedom on the island, but preserves our ability to bargain on behalf of democracy with a post-Fidel government.
The primary means we have of encouraging positive change in Cuba today is to help the Cuban people become less dependent on the Castro regime in fundamental ways. U.S. policy must be built around empowering the Cuban people, who ultimately hold the destiny of Cuba in their hands. The United States has a critical interest in seeing Cuba join the roster of stable and economically vibrant democracies in the Western Hemisphere. Such a development would bring us important security and economic benefits, and it would allow for new cooperation on migration, counter-narcotics and other issues.
This appears to be a case when HRC varies from her husband's policy, for those who need a reminder that they are two separate individuals. And her handy wins in FL and NJ belie the sugestion that it was done as political posturing.
So let's give that one to Obama.
Labels: 2008, ObamaNation, Politics
