Obama Shakes Castro's Hand...So What

Some of the more politically opportunistic opponents of Barack Obama have gone on the media warpath complaining about him shaking the hand of Cuban president Raul Castro at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela this past week.  Apparently, those folks are concerned about the human rights violations on that island nation which has brought so many refugees over to our primarily Floridian shores and come to constitute a potent conservative Republican voting bloc within that state.  I am not all that enthusiastic with the totalitarian/autocratic rule of the Castro brothers over the Cuban people either, but the fact remains that they are the internationally recognized leaders there and have to be dealt with as such...like it or not.  The whole idea of diplomacy is wrapped up in how to deal with other parties with which one has differences in order to gain the best outcome without resorting to war against them.  So it is always valuable for the leaders of all nations to know each other and to practice common courtesy.  President Obama shaking Castro's hand was nothing more than this, any more than it was when he was courteous to Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez a few years ago (for which he also received flack).  Some of us, myself included, look at the ridiculous attitude of snubbing Israel and its leaders on the part of some Arab nations (some of whom we entertain close relations with) and see that as being childish.  Well, we're doing the same if we can't at least show a little decorum and maturity in our own dealings...