CUBA: Obama's Greatest Legacy

Already Etched in Stone

    Whether you love her or hate her, or are somewhere in between those two extremes, you must admit that 68-year-old Hillary Clinton is an extremely savvy and tough politician. In her fervent quest to be President of the United States starting in 2017, she would readily throw her Democratic soul-mate, President Barack Obama, under the next bus coming down the street if she though her close political ties to him would hurt her chances. No one can assess Mr. Obama's fast-closing two-term presidency more accurately than Hillary Clinton. She's done that. And she has concluded, correctly, that he was and is a great, even transformative President.

    In her no-holds-barred bid to keep a conservative or right-wing Republican out of the White House in 2017, the sage Hillary Clinton has decided to embrace and campaign on the sane and decent policies of President Obama. If she did not believe such a decision would help her become his successor, she would have distanced herself from Mr. Obama with a schism wider than the Grand Canyon. Fifty years from now, some great historian is likely to write an updated and accurate biography of Barack Obama. He'll likely be heralded for...correcting many of the global ills spawned by the two-term Bush-Cheney administration that preceded him. He'll be saluted for trying to provide health care to even the poorest Americans against the bought-and-paid-for dictates of a right wing-dominated U. S. Congress that catered only to the rich billionaires that bought-and-paid for them. He'll likely be praised for having stressed diplomatic solutions to foreign problems that right-wing warmongers insisted should have all been settled by wars that would begat more wars, devastating the civilian masses but enriching what President Eisenhower in 1960 warned was the biggest threat to the U. S. democracy, what he famously called, "the Military-Industrial Complex." On January 20, 2017, Barack Obama will still be a relatively young man at age 55. He'll go on to...write books, make speeches, and care for the most uncared-for Americans. He'll probably be a future president of a great US or UK university. He might well be a future Secretary-General of the United Nations, a thought currently rolling around in his mind. Regardless, when the bell tolls for Barack Obama, it will, or should, resoundingly bark out the fact that he was/is a great man -- like a George Washington, Abe Lincoln, or Franklin Roosevelt. The American Revolution crowned Washington's greatness; the Civil War and slavery stamped Lincoln as a great man; and World War II and Social Security were among the things that attest to Roosevelt's greatness. The greatness of Barack Obama has been proven by one glaring fact: He was and is the antipathy to right-wing thugs who sought or seek the exalted office that he so gallantly has served. For example, one of those Republican thugs seeking the presidency, Chris Christie, in the last debate bellowed loudly about kicking Obama's rear end out of the White House on January 20th, 2017. Such arrogant bullies, as brilliantly satirized by Saturday Night Live, might appeal to Americans brain-washed and proselytized by relentless far-right radio and television propagandists, but intelligent observers, such as Hillary Clinton, know better. They know that -- on Jan. 20, 2017 -- Mr. Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two daughters can leave the White House with their heads held high.

     Having said all that, I firmly believe that, fifty years from now, the greatest legacy attached to the greatness of Barack Obama will be his fervent effort as President to rescue the United States democracy from the abominable grips of a Cuban policy, dictated by right-wing thugs, that has shamed America in the eyes of the world, decade after decade, more than any other single topic. The albatross that Obama inherited as President dates back to 1952 when a handful of right-wingers -- Nixon, the Dulles brothers, etc. -- aligned the U. S. government with the Mafia to support the brutal, thieving Batista dictatorship in Cuba. That insult to democracy was exacerbated in January of 1959 when the remnants of the Batista-Mafia dictatorship fled the Cuban Revolution and were allowed to reconstitute their dictatorship on U. S. soil, in perpetuity it seems, with nearby Miami as their capital.

      Thus, when be became President of the United States in 2009 -- following the two-term presidency of the Batistiano-aligned George W. Bush -- President Obama inherited a range of anti-democratic and anti-American laws related to Cuba as well as pro-right wing and pro-Batistiano laws -- all easily rammed through Congress with the aid of right-wingers such as Jesse Helms, Dan Burton, and Bob Torricelli. In that milieu, Obama inherited a plethora of congressionally mandated laws designed to recapture Cuba and, incredibly, enrich and empower Miami's most extreme anti-Castro zealots. This graphic that depicts President Obama being forced to enforce the U. S. embargo against Cuba is typical of what he had to try to overcome for the sake of the U. S. democracy. He had and has the support of most Americans, most Cuban-Americans, and -- as revealed each October in a UN vote -- all the nations of the world {except Israel, which is the top recipient of U. S. military and economic aid}. Yet, as extremists in Miami well comprehend, democratic principles have never factored into formulating Cuban policy in America, the world's greatest democracy. Barack Obama, more than the previous eleven U. S. presidents combined, has tried mightily -- against dangerous and overwhelming odds -- to combat and correct the unfair and self-debilitating image of the U. S. democracy that an egregiously undemocratic Cuban policy has been allowed to convey to the entire world decade after decade. THAT HERCULEAN EFFORT INVOLVING CUBA, MORE THAN ANY OF HIS OTHER CONSIDERABLE ACHIEVEMENTS, WILL CROWN MR. OBAMA'S SUPERB LEGACY WHEN GREAT HISTORIANS STUDY HIS LIFE.

Take for example,

yesterday's major article

in the Miami Herald:

        Yesterday the Miami Herald used the above photo courtesy of Andrew Harnik and the Associated Press to illustrate a major article about the U.S.-Cuban quagmire. {The photo depicts a monumental achievement, the raising of the Cuban flag, for the first time since 1961, at its embassy in Washington}. Yesterday's Miami Herald article was/is entitled: "MIAMI READIES A FIGHT OVER CUBAN CONSULATE." It was/is a very fair article written by Douglas Hanks. Now that the U. S. has reopened embassies in Havana and Washington, it is customary for the U. S. to open a Cuban consulate in the most appropriate U. S. city. In Cuba's case, that, of course, is Miami, which is dominated by Cubans. Additionally, most Cuban-Americans in Miami strongly favor the Cuban consulate being in their city because so-called ex-patriots have the most need for such a consulate for things like processing visas, obtaining birth certificates from back home, and so forth. Yet, if you read the aforementioned Miami Herald article you will see that -- to this day -- Miami politics are tightly controlled by a handful of anti-Castro zealots even though most Cuban-Americans and many former anti-Castro zealots oppose their hard-line approach to Cuba.

      Tomas Regalado was born in Havana 68 years ago. He has been the Mayor of Miami since 2009, or since Obama became President. As an anti-Castro hard-liner, he vehemently opposes the U. S. putting a Cuban consulate in Miami although most citizens of Miami want it and would benefit from it being there. The Miami Herald reported that, not unexpectedly, Mayor Regalado would fight and sue any effort by the U. S. government to do what it customarily does, which is to put a consulate in the most appropriate U. S. city to serve the most Cuban-Americans following the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington. Mayor Regalado's stance is emblematic of what, since 1959, every U. S. president prior to Obama has been forced to succumb to, which is injecting the U. S. government with a self-serving Cuban policy designed to appease only a handful of the most anti-Castro extremists who still dictate America's Cuban policy, including even such policies that go against the wishes of most Cuban-Americans. Mayor Regalado told the Miami Herald that a Cuban consulate in Miami "could inflame passions and create security risks" and thus he would fight and sue against a Cuban diplomatic outpost in Miami.

     Esteban Bovo is the ultra-powerful Commissioner of Miami-Dade County, Florida. In yesterday's Miami Herald, Mr. Bovo, the son of a Bay of Pigs veteran, was quoted as saying that a potential Cuban consulate in Miami would be "a travesty." Like anti-Castro extremists who insist on making America's Cuban laws, Mr. Bovo excoriated President Obama with these Miami Herald quotations: "President Obama has more in common with the Castro brothers than he does with the American people. The President probably had a Che Guevara poster affixed to his wall in college. He has much more in common with the Castros on broad issues." Of course, with such vitriol against President Obama, Mr. Bovo was taking advantage of the fact that, since 1959, Americans have been thoroughly propagandized or intimidated into accepting almost anything anti-Castro zealots say or do related to Cuba.

     Carlos Gimenez was born in Havana 62 years ago. He has been Mayor of Miami-Dade County since 2011. {Don't confuse Mayor Gimenez with Havana-born Tomas Regalado, who is Mayor of the city of Miami}. While Mr. Gimenez as Mayor of Miami-Dade County is famed for his anti-Castro zealotry too, Mr. Gimenez is also aware that more normal relations with Cuba will sharply benefit Miami's business community. Thus, in yesterday's Miami Herald Mr. Gimenez seemed to favor a Cuban consulate in Miami. A Gimenez spokesman said, "The Mayor would work with Washington if it ever chose to put a Cuban consulate in Miami. Mayor Gimenez will work with the federal government should that decision be made." Conspicuously, more former anti-Castro zealots are joining Mayor Gimenez in recognizing that capitalist, money-oriented Miami stands to benefit enormously from the sane Obama-orchestrated overtures to Cuba. For example, the Miami Herald article pointed out that "American Airlines plans to begin regularly scheduled flights between Miami and Havana, ending the need for the current chartered flights. Carnival, the world's largest cruise company, plans to use Port Miami as a launching pad for Cuba-bound itineraries later this year." Anti-Castroism is one thing; money is another.

    Miguel "Mike" Fernandez is probably the most powerful man, politicians included, in Miami-Coral Gables, Florida. He is a billionaire many times over. He has donated many, many millions of dollars to Republicans, especially the Bush dynasty. Mr. Fernandez migrated from Cuba at age 12 in 1964. He briefly attended Northern Virginia Community College but does not have a college degree. After exiting the U. S. army, he founded CarePlus Health, which he sold to Humana, and then he founded MBF Healthcare, the company that has made him billions. Among many other things, he reportedly owns the 4,000-acre Little River Plantation outside Tallahassee, 25,000 prime acres in Alabama, etc. An anti-Castro zealot of the first order, Mr. Fernandez is also a business zealot. Thus, his comments in the Miami Herald indicates he favors a Cuban consulate in Miami. He said, "Miami is logically the place for a consulate...if I was Mayor of Miami, I would say I represent everyone in Miami, and I represent the future of Miami. And this is business. It's absolutely time to forgive. It's way overdue." {Miguel, remember, is Jeb Bush's biggest financial supporter}.

   This image of Miguel Fernandez, the Cuban-American money-man in Miami, and Jeb Bush, the prime beneficiary of Miguel's prodigious political donations, reflects the reality that many Americans, including many Cuban-Americans, have grown tired of, namely Cuban-Americans aligned with the self-serving Bush dynasty dictating to America a Cuban policy that most of the world -- including Americans and Cuban-Americans -- clearly disapprove of. The Bush-loving billionaire Miguel Fernandez, based on his comments in yesterday's Miami Herald, seems to comprehend the new paradigm in Cuban relations permeated by a very, very brave U. S. President, Barack Obama.

    And speaking of Cuban-American billionaires famous for their anti-Castro zealotry and for being tightly tied to the Bush dynasty, meet Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul. {The photo of Alfy is courtesy of The Cuban History.com}. From the 1920s till January of 1959, the Fanjul family had a sugar monoply in Cuba. They didn't realize it at the time but Fidel Castro did them a massive favor, by chasing them to South Florida. After amassing key political friends, such as the Bush dynasty, the Fanjuls quickly amassed a sugar monopoly in the U. S. that today dwarfs, many times over, the one they had in Cuba. Today Americans pay about double what smarter people in other countries pay for Domino and other sugar brands, because Congress incredibly, thanks to us stupid or cowardly taxpayers, subsidizes the Fanjul sugar monopoly with incredible sums of tax dollars the Fanjuls don't need but still get. If you think, for example, that Bill Gates is rich, you should check out the too-many-to-count mansions in South Florida owned by the extended Fanjul family, as well as their other enormously wealthy properties in the United States and the Dominican Republic, etc. Also, a lot of that Fanjul money in the U. S. has reportedly funded, not only necessary politicians such as the Bushes and the Clintons but also many, many of the regime-change programs designed to overthrow or eliminate Fidel Castro. BUT GUESS WHAT?? Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul AGREES WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA ABOUT NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH CUBA!! Alfy, in fact, has been back to Cuba and has talked about INVESTING in Cuba, which apparently means he no longer is interesting in INVESTING in regime-change programs to unseat his old nemesis Fidel Castro, who is due to turn 90-years-old later this year in his rather modest home in Havana. {To know Alfy is to know why your sugar is SO COSTLY}.

    Many times in this forum I have criticized the Miami Herald for siding with or capitulating to the Cuban-American extremists regarding Cuba. But it is a great newspaper. Yesterday's article about a possible U. S. consulate in Miami was fair in its presentation and summation: "The contretemps over a hypothetical Miami Cuban consulate is largely seen as a symbolic fight, because Washington decides where a foreign power may open diplomatic outposts around the country. It's the latest example of a Miami political leadership resisting a rapid expansion of governmental and business ties between the United States and Cuba following Obama's announcement in December 2014 that he was pursuing full diplomatic relations with the Castro regime." That's a fair-minded Miami Herald observation on January 18th.  

        Hugo Cancio is another rich Cuban-American businessman in Miami, where he has lived for the last 35 years of his life. But he also spends a lot of time in Cuba and has a nice office in Havana. He has met and doesn't dislike Fidel Castro. Hugo, whether in Miami or Havana, will beguile you with his abiding love for both his adopted country and his native country, which is...Cuba!!!!!! 

        On YouTube you can watch an English-language interview that Cuba's Cristina Escobar had {above} with Hugo Cancio. At one point you will hear Hugo passionately complain that he and most Cuban-Americans in Miami are not represented by a political process that favors only anti-Castro zealots. Ms. Escobar followed up on that comment by Hugo by referencing, for example, Alfy Fanjul's change-of-heart regarding Cuba as well as polls in Miami favoring normalization.

      The 28-year-old Cristina Escobar is not only Cuba's top broadcast journalist, she is now in demand for interviews by many regional and international networks, as well as highly regarded American journalist Tracey Eaton who last week published a long article and two YouTube videos after he went to Cuba and interviewed Cristina. On Cuban, Spanish, and American soil recently, Cristina Escobar has staunchly proclaimed that she and many twenty-somethings like her on the island strongly support President Obama's kind overtures to Cuba, but she also staunchly maintains they she, and others, will fight to the death to maintain Cuba's sovereignty as a nation. She eventually wants democracy for her island but she told Tracey Eaton, as you can see on the YouTube video, "I don't want the U. S. to bring me democracy." With those words, she is correct. If and when her beloved island gets democracy, she and other Cubans on the island, not lying right-wingers from afar, should make those decisions. Cristina adores Cuba, and knows its history.

To summarize:

       Study this graphic. It's the work of the brilliant 47-year-old Brazilian political cartoonist Carlos Latuff. This essay is entitled: "CUBA: Obama's Greatest Legacy." I believe this graphic explains why that is so, regardless of his many past and future achievements. The image of America depicted above is one that shames him. Indeed, it should shame all Americans just as, according to the yearly vote in the UN, it obviously shames America's best friends all around the world. During his still viable two-term presidency, Mr. Obama has tried his best -- against overwhelming and very dangerous odds -- to soothe this image of America. He might not succeed, not entirely anyway. But, at least, he tried...really hard. That's a legacy he can always be proud of, even as powerful right-wing thugs try to demolish all he has constructed.

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