After 50 years in power, Cuba's notorious dictator, Fidel Castro, has resigned his presidency at the age of 81. (Read his resignation letter here.) His 76-year old brother, Raul Castro, whom President Bush describes as "Dictator-Lite", will be assuming power. Unfortunately, that transition will probably do very little to change the autocratic situation faced by the Cuban people.
For most of us, the significance of Fidel Castro's decision to step down is lost amid the latest scandals on TMZ. To give us somewhat of a historical perspective, Castro's 50-year reign would be, for the liberal crowd, like having George W. in the presidency for 50 years. Or, for the conservative crowd, it would be similar to having Hillary Clinton in the presidency for 50 years. Multiply that exponentially to factor in the suffocating impact of this communist regime and you catch a just a glimpse of the significance of this announcement. 
UPDATE: Apparently, the lack of real age difference between Fidel and his brother, Raul, has not gone unnoticed.
If Hillary was going to be in power for 50 years I'd get in a boat and row away too.
Posted by: Mandy Leech | February 20, 2008 at 06:45 AM
Mandy, you touch on a point I didn't explicitly highlight in the post, and that is the direction of the boat traffic between Cuba and the U.S. The fact that so many Cubans have put their lives and fortunes on the line to escape the Marxist socialist regime is a testament to its ultimate failure as a worldview. That is why Cuba has been one of the last communist hold-outs, because the system does work very well for those who hold the power, like the Castros.
Posted by: John | February 20, 2008 at 02:34 PM