Raul Castro is interested in meeting with the US and putting the past behind the two adversaries:

Cuba’s acting president, Raul Castro, departing from his brother’s confrontational approach to their arch-enemy the United States, said this weekend he was open for talks with Washington….At a military parade where Cuba rolled out Soviet-era tanks and fighter jets, Raul Castro railed at increased hostility by the Bush administration and condemned the war in Iraq.But he added: “We take this opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States and Cuba.”

Bush would be smart to listen to Raul Castro. Other than increasing the EITC, ending the embargo with Cuba is probably the most obviously beneficial policy choice anyone in government could make. Bush risks pissing off the entire Cuban exile population in doing it, but right now the mainstream media (not just liberal pundits) are having a very legitimate debate about whether Bush is the worst president ever. Even Nixon managed to open up China. Bush has a chance to do the same thing here (although on a much smaller scale). He’d be wise to open communications with Raul Castro and start the process of liberalizing America’s anti-Cuban policies.