Kerry betrays on Cuba

It's been forty-five years since the United States initiated its embargo of Cuba. During that time we have caused much suffering to the Cuban people, but have utterly failed in our objective of destabilizing the Castro regime. In the meantime, we have taken a different tack with the Chinese -- engagement -- and have been rewarded with economic (if not political) liberalization.

The time should be ripe for correcting our sorry course. There is a broad-based sentiment in Congress to ease the sanctions, encouraged by the lobbying of farmers and businessmen who want to sell their wares to the Caribbean nation. Our allies in Europe and South American are in near-consensus about the need to lift the embargo. So what is the obstacle? As always, it's presidential politics and the votes of about 100,000 Florida Cubans, whose grudge against Castro is greater than compassion for their countrymen or any sort of reason. Now this depressing passage from an article by William Finnegan in the March 15 New Yorker (sorry, no link available):

Senator John Kerry clearly has done the calculation. In 2000, he told the Boston Globe that the trade embargo arose from the "politics of Florida" and was badly in need of reconsideration. Then, six months ago, after meeting privately with exile leaders, he announced that he favored maintaining sanctions against Cuba.

Compromise is an important part of politics.  However, our leaders should have a red line after which principle needs to trump political gain. I would submit  that this circumstance -- where a whole nation is being victimized for political convenience -- is way past that red line.