McCain Flips Flops On Cuba

McCain today:

At a speech in Miami marking the anniversary of Cuba's independence from the United States in 1902, McCain criticized Obama for first advocating normalization of U.S. ties with Cuba and then shifting to say he favors easing the U.S. embargo against Cuba, not lifting it entirely. And McCain won "boos" from the sympathetic audience when he said that Obama would reach out diplomatically to the Castro regime.

If Obama met with Cuban leader Raul Castro, McCain said, it would "send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators -- there is no need to undertake fundamental reforms; they can simply wait for a unilateral change in U.S. policy."

Asked if he would prosecute dictator Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro for shooting down American airplanes, McCain pledged if elected to ask the U.S. attorney general to investigate the crime and prosecute the Castro brothers if they are implicated.

Yet back in 2000, McCain was open to a roadmap for negotiations with Cuba.



Democrats have quickly called McCain out on his double-talk:

The Arizona senator campaigned with several Cuban American congressmen at his side, including Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), whose Democratic opponent Joe Garcia told reporters that McCain has in the past also advocated renegotiating the embargo against Cuba.

"This is no maverick," Garcia said in remarks distributed by the Florida Democratic Party. "This is someone who has changed his opinion to whatever is most politically expedient."