I don't remember this being diaried yet but I'll delete this if someone points it out.
Yesterday, Fidel Castro spoke a little bit about the US election in his "Reflexiones del compañero Fidel".
He had the following to say:
"Millions of whites cannot reconcile in their minds with the idea that a black man with his wife and children would move into the White House, which is called just like that -- White," he wrote.
He added that it was a "pure miracle" the Illinois senator, who became the first black politician to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, had not been assassinated thus far.
Another bit:
The ailing Cuban communist leader, who handed power to his brother Raul earlier this year, described Obama as a politician who "has the habit of looking at his opponent with serenity and laughing at his rhetorical attacks."
Castro's comments came as a war of words with racial undertones marked the US White House race after civil rights icon John Lewis accused Republican candidate John McCain of sowing "hatred" against Obama, who is developing a commanding lead in opinion polls.
Castro also describes Palin as knowing "nothing at all about anything." and talks about McCain's performance at the Naval Academy.
I've been trying to find a better, complete source in Spanish but have yet to find any. Here's a more complete statement in Spanish from La Tecera:
El ex Presidente cubano Fidel Castro opinó hoy del candidato demócrata a la presidencia de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, "supera en inteligencia y serenidad" a su rival republicano John McCain, al que calificó de "belicoso".
Basically, it translates to Fidel Castro saying that Obama is superior to McCain in intelligence and serenity, describing McCain as "warlike" or aggressive.
Castro recordó que McCain "cultiva su fama de hombre belicoso y fue uno de los peores alumnos de su curso en West Point".
"No sabía nada de Matemáticas, según confiesa, y es de suponer que mucho menos de las complicadas ciencias económicas. Sin duda, su adversario lo supera en inteligencia y serenidad", agregó en su comentario.
Castro talks about McCain as hanging his fame as a military man yet he's one of the worse students at West Point. He says that McCain has confessed he does not know mathematics or, even less, complicated economics and without a doubt Obama surpasses him in intelligence and serenity.
"En Estados Unidos existe un profundo racismo y la mente de millones de blancos no se reconcilia con la idea de que una persona negra con la esposa y los niños ocupen la Casa Blanca, que se llama así: Blanca".
"De puro milagro el candidato demócrata no ha sufrido la suerte de Martin Luther King, Malcolm X y otros que albergaron sueños de igualdad y justicia en década recientes"
Same as quoted above. Basically translates to: "There exists in the United states a profound racism and millions of white people cannot reconcile the idea of having a black man, his wife, and children living in the White House, which is just that: 'White'. It's a pure miracle that the Democratic candidate has not had the luck of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and others who harbored dreams of equality and justice of recent times."
Subrayó sobre Obama que "tiene además el hábito de mirar al adversario con serenidad y reírse de los aprietos dialécticos de un oponente que mira hacia el vacío".
"Lo que más abunda en McCain son los años, y su salud no es en lo absoluto segura", comentó.
From another source of the same statement:
Echando mano a su hábil manejo de la sorna, afirmó que "lo que más abunda en McCain son los años (tiene 72), y su salud no es en lo absoluto segura". Y advirtió que "sin duda, su adversario lo supera en inteligencia y serenidad" ...
Que Palin: "la señora del rifle e inexperta ex gobernadora de Alaska"
He goes on to say that what is even more is that McCain is 72 years old and his health is not sure. And Palin is a woman of guns and inexperience.
Castro also mentions that another thing that Obama has over McCain is McCain's advancing years.
Since it's Sunday, this will probably get lost in the news, which may be a good thing. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to make of it really. And sorry for the bad translation; high school Spanish is all I had.
ETA: I don't necessarily think this can be spinned as an endorsement, considering that all Castro is doing is stating the obvious. Then again, that's the rational way of looking at this, and wingnuts are not rational.