Two reactions. First, reporters feel they are being objective when they put everything a politician does through the microscope of what he’s trying to achieve for himself. But it’s one thing to do in the body of a story — explaining the “why” — but in the first six words? It deprives politicians of idealism. That said, I’d bet a Big Mac or two that AP didn’t do this “seeking to pander” line as much with President Clinton.
Second, if Clinton ever pandered to Cuban Americans, what did they ever get? On the other hand, several years ago, the Bush administration put together a task force a couple of years back to study how Iraq would make a transition to democracy. Fidel Castro might see this story and want to re-check his exile options.