Just one more observation about the unremitting credulity certain quarters of the American media and political establishments lavish on Fidel. We’ve heard a billion times that Castro has stepped down. Well, he’s still the General Secretary of the Communist party. If memory serves, this was still the highest-ranking job in Communist countries (it was Gorby’s title, for example). He’s put his yes-man brother in the job of president, and Raul promises to “consult” with Fidel on every important issue. The fact that Castro is no longer president isn’t quite meaningless, but it’s far less significant than the press is making it out to be. Remember how Deng Xiaopeng held the sole position of Chairman of the State Athletic Commission (or was it the Committee for Non-Deviationist Balloon Animals?) for years before his death, but was still credited with running China? Castro will remain Cuba’s vampire-in-chief, whatever his title, until he’s dead. And even then he’ll continue sucking the blood from that country from beyond the grave.

Update: From a reader:

You’re right. Technically, Stalin or Lenin was never head of state in the Soviet Union. So I guess they had little power…