There are US citizens who travel to Cuba legally, with the blessings of the State Department; my daughter, for one, who did her study abroad in Cuba through a long-running Michigan State University program. There were other American college groups there, she said.
    The reason the US won't legitimize relations with Cubs is electoral politics: the large number of Cuban-American voters in Florida who hate Castro and the Communists and would vote against anyone who dares suggest normalizing relations with Havana. Florida is a swing state--sometimes it goes for Democrats, sometimes Republicans--and was rhe deciding factor in the 2000 presidential election. (Thanks, Florida.) Until we elect a president with the guts to stand up to Florida's anti-Cuba voters, we'll be stuck with the status quo.