Gee, Cuba sure seems to be a litmus test. But note that there is nobody on this thread, no matter how conservative, who thinks our policy toward Cuba is particularly wise. But the answer to the question "why does Uncle Sam hold a grudge" is ridiculously simple. Uncle Sam holds a grudge because there is a very wealthy, influential, and activist Cuban-American community in Florida. Florida, as you may have noticed, influences the outcome of presidential elections. And all that money, deployed by activists, buys political influence far beyond the state boundary. As the Germans would say, it's Primat der Innenpolitik. And for that reason, our Cuba policy is not really going to change for a good long time.

It is just that simple.