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Fidel Castro: Obama 'Misinterpreted' Raul's Words

You've been obliterated from every angle in this thread. You had no legitimate argument to begin with, then got all willy-nilly confused and tried to blame me for diversionary tactics while you were at your guitar hero lesson.

Now here you are stumbling, fumbling, bumbling, and mumbling about some codswallup that no one gives two ****s about.

scurry off now, scurry off...

I'm right here ready to get back on this topic if you can muster the courage there Sally.
 
I'm right here ready to get back on this topic if you can muster the courage there Sally.

You've failed miserably in this thread, and keep whining for a do over. :doh

Your performance here is much like your sex life, early withdrawal with no deposit, you dribbled on yourself.

Now, run along before that $2.00 hooker bitch slaps you, and demands her money back.
 
You've failed miserably in this thread, and keep whining for a do over. :doh

Your performance here is much like your sex life, early withdrawal with no deposit, you dribbled on yourself.

Now, run along before that $2.00 hooker bitch slaps you, and demands her money back.

:rofl Touche'
 
You've failed miserably in this thread, and keep whining for a do over. :doh

Your performance here is much like your sex life, early withdrawal with no deposit, you dribbled on yourself.

Now, run along before that $2.00 hooker bitch slaps you, and demands her money back.
Okay, you've had your fun, I've had mine. Now lets get back to the topic. I have several unanswered challenges that are waiting for an intelligent response. Let's start with this line of comments.
Lerxst said:
There is no "damage" being done here except in your mind. You can't articulate to any demonstrable degree what "damage" is being done by Obama's actions.
GottaHurt said:
Castro accused the president of "arrogance" and "superficiality" while also criticizing his support of Washington’s trade embargo on the island, stating Obama has now made the "failed" policy "his own."

Fidel Castro to Obama: not so fast -WorldBlog - msnbc.com
Thrown right back in Obama's face, just like Iran, N.Korea, Russia and even Sarkozy.

That's not "damage." That's the former President of Cuba flapping his trap, something he's done for decades. No "damage" was done. In fact, quite the contrary as Raul Castro, the actual President of Cuba, is all too eager to meet with our President and discuss future relations.
Lerxst said:
Still waiting on you to articulate the "damage" that needs minimizing here.
So I will once again, for at least the third time in this thread, ask you to articulate what damage was done.

Then we have you criticizing Obama for seeking face to face talks with Castro, citing Henry Kissingers trip to China as and example of how things should have been done. Yet Nixon did essentially the same thing Obama has done: publicly request an audience with an enemy head of state. The current situation with Raul Castro and Cuba isn't even remotely close to what Nixon dispatched Kissinger to China for. The only thing these two scenarios have in common is that Cuba is communist and we are seeking to normalize relations with them. The geopolitical situation, the international position of the country in question, the international position of the U.S.: all different. At this stage there was nothing to send Clinton or anyone else in to negotiate. It was merely an act of communication on the world stage to show that Obama recognizes Raul Castro as a legitimate head of state and that he wishes to have face to face dialog to discuss things. That's all he did and it was an appropriate message given his position. It came across as sincere and was well received by Cuba's President. The very fact that the Congressional Black Caucus had already traveled to Cuba and met with the President to discuss normalization shows that the situation in China that Kissinger was working on is not even close to what Obama is dealing with in Cuba. My criticism of your argument stands and is very much backed up by the fact that you tried to use such a poor comparison to make it. I'll not even get into the insinuation you made regarding James Baker and the "former" Soviet Union. Again, you invoke an absolutely off base comparison.

This gets back to the flaw in your core argument that Obama mucked it all up by sending that message himself and not having a lesser diplomat go in to "minimize damage." You've yet to define damage and you've yet to make an accurate comparison that validates your strategy and supports your criticism of Obama in this case. You've completely dismissed the fact that the Raul Castro, the current leader of Cuba, reacted quickly and positively to Obama's overture. You cite the former President of Cuba's essay as "damage" (although you can't actually quantify it all, thus it's simply your own opinion that defies reason) and then fall back on that as being evidence that Fidel Castro still runs Cuba. Again, your opinion only and you can't in any way articulate how it is that you know Fidel still runs Cuba. Your entire case that this thing blew up in Obama's face rest squarely on your ability to provide proof that Fidel Castro is still the de facto leader of Cuba.

So, please make your case that Fidel Castro is in fact the current leader of Cuba.

And we still have this elephant in the room that you continue to avoid.

GottaHurt said:
Your position here demonstrates that you have absolutely no understanding of how foreign policy is crafted to achieve the desired result. It's tantamount, as has been proven throughout history, to send your best negotiator in to lay the ground work and/or reach an agreement in principle.

Lerxst said:
We aren't talking about the crafting of foreign policy or negotiating agreements at this point, nor did I even hint at that.

GottaHurt said:
It's precisely what is being discussed here.

Nice try, Not. Sending a message is crafting policy.

Lerxst said:
No it's not. Crafting policy is actually developing policy.

Definition said:
Quote:
Main Entry:
craft
Function:
transitive verb
Date:
15th century

: to make or produce with care, skill, or ingenuity <is crafting a new sculpture> <a carefully crafted story>
Communicating a policy already crafted is sending a message. In no way whatsoever was Obama engaged in crafting foreign policy when he offered to meet with Raul Castro and lift the embargo. Why is this so hard for you to get your head around? Using the media as a conduit to transmit a message that expresses a desire to meet and discuss our two nations relationship is a tactic that is born out of foreign policy that's already been developed by the administration. You just don't walk out and throw that out there if you haven't already put together your first half game plan.

GottaHurt said:
....crickets....

So you've now made the argument that when Obama offered to meet with Raul Castro during a visit down south he was "crafting" foreign policy. Yet you can't show what policy he was "crafting" or developing, creating, etc. Do you know what a "policy" actually is? A Congressional delegation being dispatched to Cuba earlier in the month to discuss normalization of relations is evidence of the fact that policy regarding this matter already exists.

Please explain how Obama's statement to the media was "crafting" policy. What policy exactly did he create or develop that wasn't already in existence?

Ball is in your court.
 
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How trite, yet after this fabulous coup of making Obama look like an idiot (I am beginning to think it is his natural state), Chavez’s book sales skyrocketed (I imagine mostly bought up by Liberal leftists who now wanted to see the blueprint of how to insult America first hand.)

Chavez effectively showed the world that NOT only could he slap the American President in the face by walking over and handing him a book in Spanish whom Obama could not read, but what a dunce Obama was to shake the hand of the thug who handed him a book filled with rabid lunatic anti-American rantings.

How funny and ironic to watch the Liberal leftists who couldn't resist fabricating lies and distortions about Bush’s record on the ignorant belief that he stole an election, yet can now desperately defend this act of buffoonery by the Community Organizer.

It was a profoundly embarrassing moment for the Community Organization of the United States, and was a moment of awkwardness that only an arrogant imbecile would make by thinking that our enemies only hated us because of Bush.
BLOVA-PALOOZA!!!!

:rofl
Slap an "L" on Obama, Pelosi and Reid, they are soooooo done. :roll:
A majority of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing, are satisfied with what he has accomplished so far and think he is keeping his promises, according to a FOX News poll of Obama's first 100 days.

FOX News is in the bag for The One!!! :rofl
As Barack Obama closes in on his first 100 days as president, majorities of Americans approve of the job he is doing, are satisfied with what he has accomplished so far and think he is keeping his promises, according to a FOX News poll released Friday.

Obama's job approval rating comes in at 62 percent, down just three points from the 65 percent approval he received after his first week in office. Twenty-nine percent of Americans disapprove.

In addition, most people say Obama is doing a better job than they expected (26 percent) or meeting expectations (56 percent). Few say he is doing worse than expected (16 percent).

The president's approval is nearly identical to the job rating George W. Bush received at the same point in his first term, as 63 percent of Americans approved and 22 percent disapproved (April 18-19, 2001). One noticeable difference is that approval of Obama is much more divided along partisan lines today than Bush's ratings were eight years ago.

There is a wide 68 percentage point gap between the number of Democrats (92 percent) and Republicans (24 percent) who approve of the job Obama is doing. For Bush, there was a 50-point gap in April 2001.

After the September 11 attacks the partisan difference in Bush's approval narrowed significantly and was twenty-some points for months. Later, in the days leading up to the 2004 presidential election, the gap grew as wide as 79 points among registered voters as 90 percent of Republicans approved of the job Bush was doing, compared to 11 percent of Democrats.

Most Americans have a favorable opinion of Obama as a person: 68 percent favorable and 27 percent unfavorable. Similarly, at this point for Bush, 64 percent said they had a favorable view of him and 27 percent unfavorable (April 18-19, 2001).

First lady Michelle Obama is even more popular than her husband, as 73 percent of Americans have a positive view of her, up from 65 percent earlier this year (January 13-14, 2009).

Just over half of Americans (53 percent) approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as vice president, while 26 percent disapprove and 20 percent are unable to give an opinion. A 59 percent majority has a favorable opinion of Biden as a person and 28 percent unfavorable.

Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News from April 22 to April 23. The poll has a 3-point error margin.

The poll also finds that 73 percent think Obama is honest and trustworthy, up from 60 percent in October 2008. Furthermore, more people today see Obama as a "doer" (43 percent) than a "talker" (30 percent), a reversal from pre-election polling when more people saw him as a talker (49 percent) rather than a doer (34 percent).

Foreign policy is the area where voters say the administration has done its best so far. Coming in a close second is the economy, which is also the area where the most voters say the administration has done its worst.

Things Are Getting Better
Most Americans -- 69 percent -- say they are satisfied with what Obama has accomplished in his first 100 days, and 57 percent think he is keeping the promises he made during the campaign.

Such positive marks are not surprising given that nearly half of Americans (46 percent) are satisfied with the way things are going in the country today, up significantly from 20 percent in mid-January. The increase in satisfaction is driven almost solely by Democrats: 17 percent said they were satisfied in January -- before Obama took office -- and 73 percent say they are satisfied today.

The number of people who rate the nation's economy as being in "excellent" or "good" condition has also increased from 5 percent a week before Obama took office to 12 percent today.

On the personal level, about a third (34 percent) say they are better off financially now than they were in January, while almost as many say they are worse off (30 percent) and another third says there has been no change in their financial situation (34 percent).

Nearly twice as many Americans think the actions Obama has taken since becoming president will help rather than hurt the nation's economy (52 percent to 28 percent). The gap is smaller when it comes to personal finances: 38 percent say Obama's actions will help them, while 25 percent say they will hurt. A third (33 percent) says the president's actions will not make much of a difference for their family.

The recently passed $3.6 trillion dollar budget makes nearly half of Americans feel less secure about the nation's financial future; 37 percent say more secure.

In general, more Americans say they prefer a smaller government that provides fewer services (50 percent) over a bigger government that provides more services (38 percent). And, by a 16 point margin, people think big government is a greater potential threat to the country's future than big business.

The poll also shows the public is significantly more likely to say the size of government has gotten bigger (42 percent) since Obama took office, than to say it has gotten smaller (8 percent). Some 42 percent say the size of government hasn't changed.

What's more, by a 27 point margin, people think Obama sees big business as the greater potential threat than big government.

While some 53 percent of Americans think Obama is making policy changes at the right speed, that's down from 66 percent in January. And the number saying he is changing policies too quickly has increased from 24 percent to 30 percent.

Obama Seen as More Liberal Than Most Americans
A slim 53 percent majority thinks Obama's positions on the issues are "about right," while 35 percent think he is "too liberal" and 6 percent say "too conservative."

When asked to compare Obama's views to most Americans, 54 percent think he is more liberal, 13 percent think more conservative, and 23 percent think his views are in line with the country.

More people think Obama has started bringing real change to Washington (51 percent) than think it is more of the "same partisan politics" (40 percent).

Oh yeah he's done alright!

:rofl
 
FDR and Stalin were allies against the Nazis fighting WWII;

And they wouldn't have been allies, had FDR refused to talk to Stalin. Similarly, Venezuela would be a useful ally in South America.

Truth Detector said:
Nixon had to deal with Mao fighting a war in Vietnam started by Democrats;

What's your point? Mao was on the other side of that war.

Truth Detector said:
Reagan dealt with Gorbachev to prevent a nuclear holocaust

If that is a valid reason, then I'd better not ever see you protesting our consultations with the Iranians or North Koreans.

Truth Detector said:
and Bush dealt with King Abdullah, because he is a major ally of ours in the Middle East while we fight two wars over there.

He is at best a weak ally. And perhaps Chavez could be an ally too, if we would talk to him.

Truth Detector said:
I am hardly surprised that you choose to avoid the VAST differences between Chavez humiliating a naive moron like Obama in a Conference and what these men did of great import.

The only difference is that you get to look at those other events from a historical perspective. If you were alive in the 1940s, you know perfectly well that you'd be one of the people shrieking about FDR giving Stalin legitimacy by meeting with him. For that matter, you'd do the same for Nixon, Reagan, and Bush...if they had been Democrats.
 
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How is letting losers like Castro and Ortega run off at the mouth without delivering a well-earned smack in the puss being adept at anything except being the world's door-mat?

This statement shows that you know nothing about foreign policy nor human nature...
I say...let the fools run at the mouth...
And you consider Castro to be a loser, even though he has been in power for 40 plus years....and thumbing his nose at a super-power..
 
And you consider Castro to be a loser, even though he has been in power for 40 plus years....and thumbing his nose at a super-power..

I always enjoy hearing people refer to leaders like Chavez and Castro as tin pot or two bit dictators, as if that actually means anything. Whether anyone likes it or not, both of those men are legitimate heads of state. They may be heads of state that are ideologically opposed to the U.S. but they are heads of state nonetheless.
 
And they wouldn't have been allies, had FDR refused to talk to Stalin. Similarly, Venezuela would be a useful ally in South America.
Traditional thinking amongst a certain section of our membership is your enemy here. I will bet you are going to hear the argument of "we can NEVER be allies with a nation that doesn't embrace democracy, it's not possible." Except that we were allies with Iran under the Shah, with Guatemala during the civil war when they were kidnapping, torturing, and assassinating thousands of their citizens, Saudi Arabia now.

What's your point? Mao was on the other side of that war.
Precisely. Thank you.

If that is a valid reason, then I'd better not ever see you protesting our consultations with the Iranians or North Koreans.
Oh don't hold you're breath there.

He is at best a weak ally. And perhaps Chavez could be an ally too, if we would talk to him.
Agreed. Our alliance with Saudi Arabia is very suspect. Venezuela under Chavez would be just as likely an ally as Saudi Arabia.
The only difference is that you get to look at those other events from a historical perspective. If you were alive in the 1940s, you know perfectly well that you'd be one of the people shrieking about FDR giving Stalin legitimacy by meeting with him. For that matter, you'd do the same for Nixon, Reagan, and Bush...if they had been Democrats.
You know he would be. Of course Stalin was an absolutely evil person along the lines of Hitler and later Mao and Pol Pot.
 
Ball is in your court.

No, the ball is in my trophy case, and you're still whining about a do over.

Just because you can't grasp the fact that you've been destroyed here, doesn't change the fact that that is what has occured.

Just like Al Gore in the 2000 election, you liberals just can't handle an ass whooping without acting like a poor sport.
 
No, your greatest enemy is time, as each day that passes demonstrates that the new administration is more adept at handling foreign policy than your beloved Bush and Cheney. Your venom clearly has no basis in reality, because this president has not been around long enough to piss anyone off that bad. You are either a Bush dead-ender or just can't stand having a black man in the White House. Either way, time will isolate you....have fun.

I'm getting really tired of being called a racist because I disagree with the President. It's intellectually lazy to use that as a way to try to silence your political opponents. If that's going to be the extent of your contributions to these discussions, you will end up isolating yourself...have fun.
 
And they wouldn't have been allies, had FDR refused to talk to Stalin. Similarly, Venezuela would be a useful ally in South America.
To be accurate, we were allies with the USSR as a matter of necessity while we were fighting Germany. Once that war ended, so did our alliance and the Cold War began. It's not like we were lifelong buddies withe Soviets. Venezuela could be a key ally in South America, but Chavez seems more inclined to use the US as his imaginary enemy to strengthen his own power position in his region.



What's your point? Mao was on the other side of that war.
He was, and represented a significant threat to our forces in the region. I think Nixon's meeting with him had the specific goal and outvome of mitigating that threat.



If that is a valid reason, then I'd better not ever see you protesting our consultations with the Iranians or North Koreans.
Neither of those countries has, or ever likely will have, the destructive power the USSR did. I think we dealt with the USSR as equals and as an enemy. Iran and North Korea aren't equals.


He is at best a weak ally. And perhaps Chavez could be an ally too, if we would talk to him.
Weak in what regard? When fighting Islamic Jihadists, I think it's important to have alliances with nations that can influence your enemy's actions in the region. What good would an alliance with Venezuela do in fighting terrorists?



The only difference is that you get to look at those other events from a historical perspective. If you were alive in the 1940s, you know perfectly well that you'd be one of the people shrieking about FDR giving Stalin legitimacy by meeting with him. For that matter, you'd do the same for Nixon, Reagan, and Bush...if they had been Democrats.
I'd rather look at results than the personalities or political parties involved. So far, it seems Obama hasn't earned much respect from the leaders he's met. We'll see as time goes on.


Just my own opinion, but there are different ways one can use diplomacy, and it depends on your status with the other nation, and what you hope to gain. Meeting heads of state with hat in hand is likely not the best approach, and I think that's how Castro and Chavez will succeed at spinning these meetings. They have nothing to lose by trying to make the US look weak and foolish. Meeting with these leaders does give them an increased stature, and those meetings should be conducted wisely and with a specific purpose in mind.
 
No, the ball is in my trophy case, and you're still whining about a do over.

Just because you can't grasp the fact that you've been destroyed here, doesn't change the fact that that is what has occured.

Just like Al Gore in the 2000 election, you liberals just can't handle an ass whooping without acting like a poor sport.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l0xYc8zXvw"]YouTube - Run Away[/ame]

:rofl:rofl:rofl
 
Cartoon was simply an example of one aspect gained by opponents do to Obama's appeasement based policies.

Appeasement? The US holds all the cards here. We stand to gain far more from normal relations than they do. Hell, we've been using Cuba as a scapegoat for decades. And we play right into Fidel's hands by giving him an excuse to play the failing state of Cuba on rather than admit his policies were the cause.

Castro gained in his efforts to make the USA drop the embargo without him having to change anything. Then gained a lil propaganda coup afterwards by being able to say "bozo misunderstood what we meant."

Never mind that the freer the markets the freer the people and the excuse for why Cuba's a crap hole is quickly coming down. It's utterly amazing how many people don't realize just how well Cuba's used the embargo as an excuse for why the regime should stay in power. The ignorance is astounding.

Chavez gained in being able to heighten his importance and perceptions of his power in the region.

How exactly? I'd love to see this answer. If you have one. Which I doubt.
 
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