Rumors that Fidel Castro is dead are again electrifying gossip circuits on the streets of Havana, at the favored hangouts of Cuban exiles along Miami's Calle Ocho, and in some corners of the blogosphere. The Cuban President, who handed power "temporarily" to his brother Raúl more than a year ago, has not appeared in a new video or photograph in almost three months. But Fidel maintains a presence in print, regularly publishing lengthy disquisitions about wide ranging subjects. His most recent, an analysis of presidential politics in the United States, brought back memories of the last time I saw the Cuban president, back when he was in full possession of his verbose faculties, and the United States also was preparing to elect a new president. In his column "Reflections of President Castro" published Aug. 28 in the official newspaper Granma, Castro appeared to endorse a Hillary/Obama ticket as the "invincible" formula for Democratic victory. On the surface, that sounds like a statement from Havana that the man who has faced off with nine American presidents wants the next Oval Office resident to be Hillary Clinton. Something tells me, however, that this is not the correct reading.
Cuba and U.S. Politics: My Evening With Castro
