It seems to me that we're making a really big mistake in our handling of Cuba.

The Bush Administration, over objections in Congress, has made travel restrictions more stringent to Cuba and continues to enforce heavy sanctions against the island nation. This appears to be less about Cuba being a Communist nation or a tryannical leader and more about the heavily Republican Cuban vote in Florida. This policy in my opinion is counterproductive.

China is also Communist nation with tyrannical leaders. Yet we can't get over their fast enough. China is growing by leaps and bounds US corporations are trying to market goods there like crazy. The Chinese have begun to embrace parts of capitalism. They're markets are slowly opening and the Chinese are slowly being exposed to American ideals of democracy and freedom.

Cuba remains a much more closed society...especially for Americans. Our sanctions against Cuba have done nothing over the years to get rid of Castro. In fact he's basically entrenched. The US should stop pandering to the Cuban community in Florida and begin to take proactive steps to market American goods and services in Cuba. Our citizens should go to Cuba for vacations and expose the Cuban people to American ideals of freedom and democracy. And maybe while we're there we could learn a few things from the Cubans...like how to provide good healthcare for all of our citzens, for example.