Is There A Penalty For Cluelessness?

Not too long ago, sucking up to Fidel Castro would have been political suicide, even for a Democrat. But the U.S. has moved to the left over the last couple of decades, apparently far enough that the Cuban dictator is no longer beyond the pale. Thus, a delegation from the Congressional Black Caucus ventured to Havana to meet with Fidel and his brother Raul:

Key members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling for an end to U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba, just hours after a meeting with former Cuban president Fidel Castro in Havana.

“The fifty-year embargo just hasn’t worked,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) told reporters this evening at a Capitol press conference after returning from a congressional delegation visit to Cuba. “The bottom line is that we believe its time to open dialogue with Cuba.”

The Congressmen were struck by how similar Castro is to Barack Obama:

Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Ca.) said Castro was receptive to President Obama’s message of turning the page in American foreign policy.

“He listened. He said the exact same thing” about turning the page “as President Obama said,” said Richardson.

I’ll bet he did. Castro is only one of a number of enemies of America who are enthusiastic about Obama’s “turning the page.” The Democrats obviously hit it off with Fidel:

Lee and others heaped praise on Castro, calling him warm and receptive during their discussion. But the lawmakers disputed Castro’s later statement that members of the congressional delegation said American society is still racist.

“It was quite a moment to behold,” Lee said, recalling her moments with Castro.

“It was almost like listening to an old friend,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Il.), adding that he found Castro’s home to be modest and Castro’s wife to be particularly hospitable.

“In my household I told Castro he is known as the ultimate survivor,” Rush said.

That’s not exactly how Castro is referred to in my household. Let’s go back, though, to Castro’s “modest” home. Apparently the Democratic delegation hasn’t heard that Castro ranks near the top on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 500 richest people in the world, whose wealth is unearned. As we noted here, Castro may have stolen a larger percentage of his country’s wealth than any dictator in history. Or maybe the Democrats know that Castro is one of the world’s greatest thieves and don’t mind; stealing other people’s money is not exactly antithetical to the principles of Barack Obama’s party.

For America’s enemies, President Obama is almost too good to be true. Fidel, no fool even in his old age, knows where the interests of his Communist dictatorship lie:

Richardson said Castro knew her name and district. “He looked right into my eyes and he said, ‘How can we help? How can we help President Obama?'”

Not too many years ago, that endorsement would have been the kiss of death. Now, apparently not. Castro’s own account of the meeting is here.

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