And let the fallout in certain corners of the internet begin…
Via The Telegraph: President Barack Obama shakes Raul Castro’s hand at Mandela memorial service.
This is the second such US-Cuban shake:
The gesture – which comes despite half a century of hostilities – came as Mr Obama made his way to a podium to deliver a speech. It is only the second time ever that a US president has shaken the hands of a Cuban Communist leader. President Bill Clinton was the first to do so in 2000 after a lunch during a United Nations summit in New York, when he shook hands with Mr Castro’s brother, Fidel.
On that occasion, the White House initially denied the handshake had taken place but later backtracked, saying it had been instigated by Mr Castro, who had approached Mr Clinton. Unlike the latest occasion, however, the exchange was not photographed.
Heck, this one was videoed (see link).
I recall President George H. W. Bush purposely avoiding Fidel at an event in the early 1990s. I used to to have a newspaper clipping of Bush clearly pretending like he hadn’t seen Fidel, but I am not sure I have it any longer.
Is this a big deal? No. Will it be made into one by partisans? Oh, heck yes.
