The consensus of a recent panel on Cuba (that Bush would likely veto
legislation ending the U.S. ban on travel to Cuba) has been
rendered moot. The legislation had been attached to the transportation bill the maximum
leader needs to approve, so as to make a veto more difficult for him.
But as reported Thursday, “President Bush’s allies in Congress quietly eliminated [the] widely
supported provision easing restrictions on American travel to Cuba from a major appropriations
bill to save him from embarrassment over his political designs in Florida, officials from both
parties said.” In other words, Bush can continue to pander to the Cuban émigrés in Miami without
having to take a hit from other constituencies.
