Campaigning in the Clinton-friendly commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Hillary Clinton waded into choppier political waters today — chastising Cuba for failing to institute Democratic reforms and pledging that, as president, she would not meet with its leaders until it did so.

While it was not a new policy approach for the Senator, her comments come just days after Barack Obama and John McCain sparred over whether the President of the United States should meet with new Cuban leader Raul Castro without preconditions. Obama argues for such top-level meetings; Clinton sided firmly with McCain.

“I think we must see evidence of reform before we allow the current governor of Cuba to benefit from the prestige and power of a presidential meeting,” she told a group of Cuban expatriates at Casa Cuba in Carolina. “They must show their good faith and we will work with them if they do.”

Clinton called for large scale progress to justify large scale talks. “We have seen, since Raul Castro formally took power, some small measures that may improve the lives of people in Cuba,” she said. “These first steps, however, are minor compared with the giant leaps that must be taken in order to achieve genuine political reform in Cuba.”

“I would call on the new leadership in Cuba to take immediate action to demonstrate its good faith and understanding. Release political prisoners, permit free assembly, and host open and competitive elections like you have right here in Puerto Rico,” she said — vowing to work for “a free, open, democratic Cuba.”

Clinton never mentioned Barack Obama during her remarks, a pattern that’s developed since her chances at winning the nomination dropped to next to nil. But her direct opposition to Obama’s diplomatic policy is the closest she’s gotten to attacking her Democratic rival in weeks — hinting, at the very least, that she’s not quite ready to forego her strong opinions for the sake of party unity against John McCain.

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Little Rock, AK — Despite criticism from his Democratic rival, Sen. McCain defended his campaign’s use of Obama’s endorsement by the Hamas terrorist group for political purposes and attacked him for being “very lacking in experience on national security issues.”

“It is just a fact that apparently the North American spokesperson is endorsing Senator Obama. People can make their own judgment from that,” McCain said at a media availability today, referring to comments made by Ahmed Yousef, a top Hamas adviser

Yousef told WABC Radio on April 13 that, “we like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the election. I do believe he is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principle.”

McCain was first asked about the endorsement during a conference call with bloggers today where he said,
“I think it is very clear who Hamas wants to be the next President of the United States…if Senator Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly.”

The McCain campaign has previously used the endorsement as part of a fundraising appeal.

Obama has condemned Hamas and never solicited the “endorsement,” and an Obama spokesman today accused McCain for use of “the politics of association and…claims he knows not to be true to advance his campaign.”

“This type of politics of division and distraction, not only lead to a campaign not worthy of the American people, but also has failed to help our families for too long,” added Obama spokesman, Hari Sevugan.

(more…)

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West Palm Beach, FL — Campaigning in Florida Tuesday, Sen. John McCain attacked Sen. Barack Obama for his intention to hold talks with Cuban dictator Raul Castro–as the GOP nominee looks to appeal to the large Cuban population in the state.

“I would not in any way, as Senator Obama wants to do, legitimize an individual who has been responsible for …repression, political prisons and a gulag,” McCain said during a media availability with Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

Asked if Obama’s foreign policy meant he was “naive” McCain deferred, choosing instead to call the Illinois Democrat “inexperienced.”

“I don’t know if he is naïve or not. I know he is inexperienced…hat approach is something that I think would only serve to legitimize the person who has a many many year record, decades of record of cruelty and oppression to the people of Cuba,” McCain said.

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton responded to the comments by comparing McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton for both pushing a policy that “has failed America and the Cuban people for fifty years.”

“John McCain and Hillary Clinton both have the experience of supporting a Bush Cuba policy that has failed America and the Cuban people for fifty years. Instead of empty rhetoric, Barack Obama actually has a strategy to help advance liberty for the Cuban people, starting with lifting all restrictions on family travel and cash remittances and pursuing direct diplomacy. Cuban Americans will be our best ambassadors for change, and will give the Cuban people more space from their regime,” Burton said in a written statement.

Miami, FL-

After speaking to the Latin Builders Association, Mike Huckabee was asked about Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and his heir apparent, brother Raul Castro. Specifically, a reporter asked, what would be Huckabee’s approach to Raul, if he became president?  Huckabee responded that Raul Castro would not be much different than Fidel, and further, Raul, Huckabee said, should be indicted for murder for his involvement in the Cuban Air Force downing of 2 aircrafts operated by a Cuban-American,  pro-Democracy  organization in 1996, over international waters.  

Brothers to the Rescue, or “Hermanos al Rescate” the Miami-based activist organization that manned the civilian aircraft was formed by Cuban exiles. The group describes itself as a humanitarian foundation aiming to assist and rescue raft refugees who leave Cuba looking for a better life in the United States.

“The sad thing is that Raul is not going to be much better than his brother Fidel. And especially, if you look at Raul’s personal involvement in the shooting down of the aircraft operated by ‘Brothers to the Rescue’, ” Huckabee said.” That was sheer murder, I personally would like to see Raul Castro indicted for that murder.I think that to shoot down  a civilian aircraft,  that was unarmed, over international waters is an act of not just aggression, its an act of murder. And we shouldn’t be all that happy if Raul becomes the new dictator.” 

Fidel Castro is a hated figure among the majority of the Cuban-American community here in Southern Florida, many of whom are a generation or two removed from the group of Cubans exiled from their country by Castro when he came to power after his Communist revolution in 1959.

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Earlier in the day, Huckabee went to the little Havana landmark restaurant,Versailles, where he tried their famous “Cafe Cubano”, a strong, and delectable shot of Cuban Coffee. Huckabee was accompanied by rising Florida Republican star and FL Speaker of the House, Marco Rubio, who endorsed his candidacy recently. Rubio also warned Huckabee that one shot was enough, of the potent turbo-like coffee(this reporter unwittingly drank three).

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BTW, they also have the best Cuban sandwich ever.