Reason noted a little cited 2004 speech by Senator Obama in which he said “time for us to end the embargo with Cuba…. It’s time for us to acknowledge that that particular policy has failed.” It is a position that is held in liberal Democratic circles but largely opposed by the very influential Cuban American voting block.

So fast forward to today and take a look at Obama’s speech on Latin America given in Miami. Today Obama says he will maintain the embargo adding “It provides us with the leverage to present the regime with a clear choice: if you take significant steps toward democracy, beginning with the freeing of all political prisoners, we will take steps to begin normalizing relations. That’s the way to bring about real change in Cuba—through strong, smart and principled diplomacy.”

As Reason notes, this is a pretty major policy shift for Obama that hasn’t been noted much by the press.