Florida Politics: Is debate shifting about Cuba?

As Florida bids to move up its 2008 presidential primaries -- and expand the state's influence on the election-year debate -- an interesting new poll reveals shifting attitudes among Cuban Americans, a key voting constituency, about their homeland.

A new Florida International University poll finds that Cuban Americans are softening their once solidly-hawkish position regarding Cuba, as the Miami Herald reports:

A new poll released Monday shows that growing numbers of Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade oppose U.S. restrictions on travel to the island and favor more contacts with Havana.

The survey showed 55.2 percent of those polled favor ''unrestricted'' travel to Cuba, though a majority of those registered to vote opposed the option, and support for the embargo was at the lowest level since the survey was launched in 1991.

The results also show a community divided in opinions on Havana depending on the year of arrival, skeptical that a quick change will happen on the island, and attitudes that seem contradictory: A narrow majority favors a U.S. invasion of Cuba, but a bigger majority supports a restoration of diplomatic ties between Havana and Washington.

This could change how presidential hopefuls talk about Cuba in 2008. In 2000, Al Gore -- eyeing Florida as a key swing state -- famously sided with hard-line Cubans in the Elian Gonzalez affair to court the Miami vote.

Perhaps the changing sentiment in Florida will open up debate about the U.S. embargo on Cuba, which last year -- for the 15th straight year -- the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly condemned, calling it "the longest and cruelest blockade in history." 183 countries supported the resolution; four states opposed it (Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States) and one abstained (the Federated States of Micronesia).