More of the Same

Clinton said Monday that if elected, ``I will not be penciling in the leaders of Iran or NorthKorea or Venezuela or Cuba on the presidential calendar without preconditions, until we have assessed through lower-level diplomacy the motivations and intentions of these dictators.
''Raul Castro, for example,'' she said, ``has a stark choice. He can continue to stifle human rights and economic freedom in Cuba or he can chart a new course toward democratic reform.''

My guess is, offering Castro II that choice will result in him continuing to stifle human rights and economic freedom. Which gets us—and, more importantly, the Cuban people—nowhere.