George W. Bush certainly seems like he likes to strangle things. He’s been trying to strangle Cuba and Cuban-American families with tightened restrictions on family-related travel to emphasize how much every President of the United States since Eisenhower has tried (and failed) to undermine Fidel Castro’s government.

Sarah Stephens, Director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, got this fantastic clip of Barack Obama speaking about US policy towards Latin America at the TC Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia — and made some apt comments about Cuba and Venezuela.

So, tomorrow I’ll be meeting a few readers at Cafe Roma in Berkeley at 4 pm at 2960 College Avenue. Frequent commenter Ben Rosengart is coordinating.

Every week — usually on Tuesdays (but not this week) — I chat about American politics with radio show host Deborah Cameron on 702 ABC Sydney radio. I really enjoy it and find her a very well informed, thoughtful host who digs into a lot in a short ten minutes.

I am a Grinch when it comes to rallies. I don’t like the noise, the spinwheels, the signs, and the illusion of joy. The high flying speeches and smiles, the ritual of orchestrated applause — the happy screaming. I don’t like hype. I want detail.

I haven’t been doing many coffee house meetings during my travels lately because my schedule has been out of control — but for those interested and in the respective corners of the world I’m going to — I can meet tomorrow (Thursday) in either San Francisco or Berkeley mid-day or early evening.

Barack Obama has just announced support for a national infrastructure bank — similar to the one that Senators Chris Dodd and Chuck Hagel have been pushing for in Congress.

I don’t think that the Dem race is near over — but it’s wise to seriously consider the lines of attack that John McCain’s team will take against Hillary and/or Obama — both if they are partnered on the final ticket.

In 1988, voter turnout in the primary season hit a then-record of 35 million — 23 million of these were Democratic and 12 million Republican. And we’re not saying “President Dukakis”.

Two of the Maryland Congressional races I was watching last night produced a mixed result. In MD-04, challenger Donna Edwards was trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Al Wynn — and she won.