Comments on: Obama: I'll Stick With Embargo For Now
Admits America's Cuba Policy "Hasn't Worked The Way We Wanted It To," But Will Keep It In Place Until Havana Changes Course
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- So as long as we are embargoing communist nations, could we go ahead and include China? It would do wonders for our annual trade imbalance and bring up to a million manufacturing jobs back to the USA.
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- Posted by Stuart2560 at 3:30 PM : Apr 19, 2009
My concern is not his genuiness or competence. It's whether or not he's actually a closet "centrist", as indicated by his recent softening on issues from health care to Cuba as if he's content to leave things are they are. Perhaps it's just impatient. Thanks for your thoughts. - Reply to this comment
- Move Aside Castros
Cuba is a communist regime and the only way Obama will acknowledge Cuba will be when the president is not a Castro and is elected by the free people of Cuba.
Posted by jesuseyes at 3:28 PM : Apr 19, 2009
We recognized The USSR, So much for your evaluation. - Reply to this comment
- It's scary that a man who isn't qualified to run a 7-11 is in charge of architecting the foreign policy of the US and half the free world.
What were we thinking when voted this guy in? What were we smoking? We want our votes back!
Posted by richardj3901 at 1:54 PM : Apr 19, 2009
Would you rather that we go and get a 7-11 manager to handle this? ssssshhhhheeeeeeeeesssssshhhhhhhhhh!!! - Reply to this comment
- Perhaps there is quite a large shift. Just not the shift you want. Just not the shift you can see. Is that a possibility?
Posted by Stuart2560 at 3:11 PM : Apr 19, 2009
My idea of large shifts would include but is not limited to the following:
A complete revamp of the health care system.
A radical reform and simplication of the tax code like he said he wants to do.
A plan to stem the outsourcing of American jobs to cheaper labor overseas. Unless this happens there is no saving the American economy.
Robust regulation of the financial markets. Corporate compensation reform. - Reply to this comment
- Have you written President Obama and expressed that?
Posted by Stuart2560 at 3:09 PM : Apr 19, 2009
It may be too early to tell. It's been only a few months. He may be saving political capital right now. The stimulus package and the bailouts have taken a toll. I'm going to adopt a wait-and-see attitude for now. - Reply to this comment
- Maybe it's too early to tell, but there is as yet no fundamental shift in policy toward just about anything in the Obama's administration other than a few gestures.
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- The embargo hasnt worked, but Obama will stick with it.
The Wall Street bailouts havent worked, but Obama will stick with it.
Torturing terrorists hasnt worked, but Obama will stick with it.
Point this out and you are accused of being a racist.
Smear tactics like that do work and we'll stick with them.
Some "Change" - Reply to this comment
- incog-nito at 3:05 PM : Apr and your point is???
Posted by Stuart2560 at 3:06 PM : Apr 19, 2009
The point is Obama needs to follow through. A lot of his supporters are wondering. - Reply to this comment
- Obama: "I don't like the current policy toward Cuba, but will stick with it. I don't like Bush's power grab, but will keep the power. I think it's wrong to torture, but won't prosecute anyone. I will pull out of Iraq, but will more troops back in Afghanistan. I think CEOs of failing companies shouldn't get huge bonuses, but if they do there's much I can do about that. I think we should reform our health care system, but will keep the private insurers. I..."
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- why don't some of you people just come out & say that your responding is simply because he is a "Black" man in the Whit House.? Guess what? he will be in there for the nest four years.
Where were some of you people whenever Bush was in there running this Country in the ground? Some people aren't that ignorant that we cannot see what is going on. Maybe some of you should just get off your tuffs & go out & look for a job> "HUH? - Reply to this comment
- The smart thing to do is to abolish the Federal Reserve act of 1913.
Castro wrote a book called "Capitalism in Crisis", a good summer read by the way.
In that book he aptly forcasted that lazaire faire free market capitalism would end up relying on gimmackry and casino tricks like worthless derivatives and credit-default swaps to paper over the eventual self-destruction of un-regulated capitalism.
So if I were Castro after the Cuban Revolution and just beat back Corporate Fascists like Baptiste, I would've imprisoned anyone who would've promoted in a seditious matter the same British propaganda of 'free trade' nonsense. - Reply to this comment
- Israel has over 10x the political prisoners as Cuba-this seems to be no problem for O.....
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- Wrong again Mr. President
The reason we have people like Castro in the first place is because of people like Batista. Castro was - and still is - a brute but compared to the swine he replaced he was the difference between the Charles I and his son. Neither were worth a da*n as English kings but Charles II was much better. Maybe the Cuban people aren't "free" but neither are the people of Myanmar (Burma) and Azerbaijan and we have no reservations about trading with either.
The embargo doesn't even make the political sense it once may have back in the 60's thru 80's. Most of the Cuban-American upper crust who fled Castro are now dead or in their dotages and it is their grandchildren who make up that political base. They are more concerned with living in the here and now as Americans and have no real emotional investment in returning to an ancestral land that matters to them, if at all, only because it mattered to their seniors.
Finally trade embargos seldom work. We tried it in Iran, North Korea, Iraq and the end result has ALWAYS been worsening conditions for the poorest and least educated elements in each society; those who were most vunerable to begin with. We have always staged it that way so the masses could point to their worsening poverty as a reason to rise up against their oppressive leaders. It never works! Even when we all-but-do-it for them as we did in getting rid of Chile's Allende (who was democratically elected by the way) what we got for our efforts was the infinitely worse Pinochet.
No, there are too few reasons to keep the embargo and too many to chuck it in the trash bin of history where it belongs. - Reply to this comment
- I would question it all, why do they want us to left the embargo?
They want and need money and freed-up credit, the Castro's aren't going to allow a democracy after 50 years of dictatorship, if they stop taking 30% of the top for money transfers and free all political prisoners its a start, but I will believe it when I see it.
How about allowing a free election which includes all parties including the communist party. The guy with the cigar in hand at the end of this segment really made himself look dumb, freedom is not about people being able to smoke cigars. - Reply to this comment
- Amen hermitdave. Did about the same thing with Egypts leader, Nasser.
Nasser asked the USA to help Egypt build the Aswan Dam. The USA said it couldn' t be built. So the Soviet Union help build the dam. Will we ever learn? - Reply to this comment
- Why we won't trade with Cuba? Castro won't pay the right people in Washington. I hate to see Obama waiting for his share of the money.
But we still love the Commies in China and Vietnam.
I forget.. How many men did we lose in our war with Cuba???? That's right we didn't fight a war with Cuba. It was Chaia and Vietnam. Now we kiss their butts for trade. and take vacations to the Commie counties. - Reply to this comment
- I think they could get the desired effect of a more open Cuban government by letting western influence do it by proximity.
Lift the embargo and their society will open up extremely fast. - Reply to this comment
- Mister president I suggest you take the time to read some of the history behind this embargo of American logic and common sense. Cuba used to be ruled by a American approved dictator. The American Mafia loved mister Batista. The this guy named Castro along with many
Choose--1---freedom fighters---evil terrorists
Castro's team won and with Americas help Batista retired to a nice home in Miami Florida.
Castro came the the United States to ask for help. The crooks in congress, upset by loosing one of their favorite dictators told him to go to hell. Instead he went to Russia. The rest is sad sorry history. Many of the unpunished for stupidity people involved in this are now dead. Many of us hope you as president can change the leadership of the country to at least a little higher level of intelligence. - Reply to this comment
- This guy has the Intelligence to actually BE a Statesman and put pressure on those who for Decades have played us out to the the heavy to everyone around them. Let's face it, hating, Bush/Cheney and their Administration was pretty easy to do AND I'm and American. President Obama is using that dislike to our advantage that is obvious.
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