Posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 by Joanna Klonsky
Cuban President Raul Castro has warned against pinning “excessive hopes” on U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. “[T]hough he may be an honest man, and I think he is, and a sincere man, and I think he is, one man cannot change the destiny of a nation, much less the United States,” Castro said, speaking on state-run television. Still, a Washington Post report from Havana published Wednesday shows many Cuban citizens are hopeful that Obama will end the embargo on Cuba and lift travel restrictions.
Policy experts in the United States continue to speculate about potential shifts to U.S.-Cuba policy under Obama. In a new podcast with CFR.org, Daniel Erikson, director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, is doubtful that Obama will bring dramatic changes to U.S.-Cuba policy, citing “virtual paralysis” on Congress on the topic of Cuba policy.
Freedom House, a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting democracy around the world, issued a new release urging Obama to “reexamine the embargo and to immediately lift the restrictions on remittances and travel to and from the island.”
Posted in Cuba, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce (WashPost) his energy and environmental policy team at a press conference in Chicago on Monday.
CUBA: McClatchy looks at possible changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba under the Obama administration.
Posted in Climate Change, Cuba, Energy Policy, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 by campaign2008
Several prominent business groups urged President-elect Barack Obama to ease the economic embargo on Cuba (Reuters).
LATIN AMERICA: The San Francisco Chronicle looks at possible changes to U.S. policy toward Latin America under the Obama administration.
Posted in Cuba, Latin America, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
A large majority of Latinos turned out to vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday, exit polls showed. 67 percent of Latino voters picked Obama overall, while 31 percent voted for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the national election. Hispanic voters helped deliver several crucial states to the Obama campaign, including Florida, Nevada and Colorado.
In Florida, where Cuban-American voters have long been a reliably Republican bloc, some exit polls showed Obama with 35 percent of their vote– more than double what former Democratic candidate John Kerry received from the group in 2004 (CBS). This CFR.org Issue Tracker details the candidates’ positions on U.S. policy toward Cuba.
In total, Obama got 57 percent of the Latino vote in Florida (CNN), while 42 percent went to McCain, exit polls showed. In Colorado, 73 percent of Hispanic voters supported Obama. In Nevada, Obama received 76 percent of the Latino vote, according to exit polls.
McCain at one time enjoyed popular support from Hispanic voters in his home state of Arizona. The Dallas Morning News’ Emily Ramshaw writes today that the McCain campaign had been hoping McCain’s “immigration experience and social conservatism would appeal to Latinos.” But on Tuesday, according to exit polls, Obama won 56 percent of Arizona’s Latino vote, compared with McCain’s 41 percent.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Immigration, Latin America | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
The Miami Herald reports today that the economy is trumping U.S. policy toward Cuba as the most important important issue for voters in South Florida’s three congressional races:
In years past, Cuba has been a dominant issue and given the three hard-line Cuban-American Republicans an edge among like-minded, motivated voters. But with a faltering economy and increasingly diverse districts, the Cuba debate has largely receded to Spanish language radio as the candidates trade barbs on taxes, trade and fitness for office.
Incumbent Republican Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are all being challenged by Democratic candidates who have benefited from the support of young Cuban-American voters who are “weary of exile politics,” according to the report.
Politico also looks at these hotly-contested races today, and considers the possibility of an end to the decades of Republican support from the Cuban-American community in the area.
U.S.-Cuba policy hasn’t played a major role in the presidential race of late, either. The issue has barely come up since Cuban Independence Day in May 2008, when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) outlined their respective positions on policy toward Raul Castro’s regime.
For more on the presidential and vice-presidential candidates positions on U.S. policy toward Cuba, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker on the matter.
Posted in Cuba, Economy, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 by campaign2008
Hoping to ease high gas prices, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on Sunday announced a plan to crack down on “excessive energy speculation.” The plan includes a measure to fully close the so-called “Enron Loophole,” which the Obama camp says prevents the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from effectively investigating instances where market speculation might be driving up prices.
The New York Times reports on the Obama campaign’s ties to the ethanol industry.
In a speech later today on energy policy, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will reportedly propose offering a “$300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.”
CUBA: The case of Elian Gonzales remains an election issue (ChiTrib) for Cuban-Americans in Miami.
Posted in Cuba, Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) suspended her candidacy for the Democratic nomination
June 7 . Clinton, who had advanced farther than any woman presidential candidate in U.S. history, sought throughout the campaign season to distinguish her foreign policy agenda from that of her main opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).
In a concession speech Saturday, Clinton endorsed Obama and urged her supporters to work for his election.
Here is a review of Clinton’s key foreign policy positions:
- Clinton said she would end the war in Iraq. Although she voted in favor of the 2002 Senate resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, she has since become critical of the war, opposing the troop surge and the use of private military contractors there. Clinton’s plan to end the war included a phased redeployment of troops beginning within the first 60 days of her administration. She also said she would keep “small, elite strike forces” in Iraq “to engage in targeted operations against al-Qaeda.”
- Clinton said she would open a diplomatic channel with Iran upon taking office, but also warned the country about its aggression toward Israel, saying in April 2008 that the United States would “totally obliterate” Iran if it were to “foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel” under her presidency. Clinton also received criticism from her Democratic opponents for her September 2007 vote in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.
- Clinton promised to renegotiate NAFTA to improve the trade deal’s labor and environmental protections. She planned to implement a “time out” on new trade deals during her first months as president so she could “assess their impact before going forward.” Clinton also said she would crack down on China’s “unfair trade practices,” including the revaluation of the yuan.
- Clinton said she would maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba and would pressure the Cuban government to release political prisoners and become more democratic.
- Clinton planned to institute a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions and create a $50 billion “Strategic Energy Fund,” funded in part by oil companies, to invest in alternative energy. She also said she would create a “green collar” jobs program.
- Clinton said she would visit Africa during her first term, if elected. She called for a no-fly zone over Darfur, Sudan, but said she would not send U.S. troops to stop the mass killings there. Clinton signed a statement in May 2008 saying the Khartoum regime was “chiefly responsible” for the violence in Darfur and demanding that it adhere to the standards of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Posted in Africa, Climate Change, Cuba, General Election, Iran, Iraq, Palestinian-Israeli, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won the Puerto Rico Democratic primary on Sunday with 68 percent of the vote to Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) 32 percent. The result did not significantly change Obama’s lead (CNN) in delegates as the five-month primary process nears an end.
According to exit polls (CNN), 57 percent of Democratic voters in Puerto Rico “strongly disapprove” of the war in Iraq, while only five percent said they “strongly approve.” Exit polls also showed 60 percent of voters naming the economy as the most important issue facing the country, while 25 percent said Iraq was most important. Nearly 60 percent of voters said Puerto Rico should become a state.
The New York Times looks at the importance of Cuba policy for Democratic candidates campaigning in Florida.
Posted in Cuba, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 by campaign2008
In a column published Monday, former Cuban President Fidel Castro criticized Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) May 23 speech in which he called for “justice for Cuba’s political prisoners, the rights of free speech, a free press and freedom of assembly” and “elections that are free and fair.” Obama said he would maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba but open up contacts in other areas.
Speaking at a Cuban community center in Puerto Rico on Sunday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said she would “redouble our efforts to support civil society” in Cuba if elected.
The Libertarian Party nominated former Republican representative Bob Barr (AP) to be its presidential candidate on Sunday. Barr has spoken against possible war with Iran, and has been an adamant critic of the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping efforts.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 by campaign2008
“There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans. That’s why I w
ill immediately allow unlimited family travel and remittances to the island. It’s time to let Cuban Americans see their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers. It’s time to let Cuban American money make their families less dependent upon the Castro regime.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Friday before the Cuban American National Foundation.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
