The Council on Foreign Relations has a roundup on where the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates stand on Cuba and U.S. policy towards the island.
On whether the U.S. should continue the “embargo” and other sanctions, this is where the candidates stand:
Joseph Biden (D)
Hillary Clinton (D)
John Edwards (D)
Bill Richardson (D)
Sam Brownback (R)
Duncan Hunter (R)
John McCain (R)
Mitt Romney (R)
Tom Tancredo (R)
Anti-embargo
Christopher Dodd (D)
Mike Gravel (D)
Dennis Kucinich (D)
Ron Paul (R)
Unknown position
Barack Obama (D)
John Cox (R)
Rudy Giuliani (R)
Mike Huckabee (R)
Tommy Thompson (R)
(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense.)
Great list, Marc — I think that this list should be updated as the “unknowns” become known and described in detail if anyone makes any comments. Anyone have more detail to share?
In other words, if the regime outlasts Bush then the embargo probably will too.
Everyone knows, of course, that officially opposing the embargo does not necessarily mean, and definitely does not guarantee, that a candidate (if elected) would do any real good for the cause of Cuba’s freedom–just as it does not necessarily mean or guarantee that the candidate would not act to the detriment of said cause (directly or indirectly).
Basically, politicians (of both parties) are perfectly willing and ready to to say whatever it takes to get the votes they need. Once in office, it’s a different story. If Bush, who’s in the White House because of the Cuban-American vote, has been at best a mixed bag with respect to Cuba-related policy, there’s little point expecting anything SUBSTANTIAL from anybody else (except substantially BAD).
As always in politics, one ought to go for the lesser evil, but NOBODY in the White House is going to play knight in shining armor unless the circumstances demand or force the president to really DO something. The powers that be in Cuba are not so stupid as to provoke that, so the status quo will be essentially maintained unless CUBANS take the matter into their own hands.
My entry for Most Ignorant Question Ever On This Blog:
What is the consensus in here — the embargo is:
a) bad?
b) good?
c) no significant effect?
As you can see, I don’t know where I stand on it and hence need to get ‘edja-ma-kated’ on it.
In my best John MacLaughlin voice:
The correct answer is D, none of the above. It will be a good piece of leverage to wield when the faces at the top of the Cuban government change (i.e. when Fidel and Raul are gone). The embargo is a punitive measure and it has succeeded in punishing the regime. The regime’s own rhetoric about the embargo supports this.