El Jefe "Resigns"

According to the NYT:

MEXICO CITY — Fidel Castro stepped down Tuesday morning as the president of Cuba after a long illness. The announcement was made in a letter to the nation written by Mr. Castro and published early Tuesday morning on the Web site of Granma, the official publication of the Cuban Communist Party.

The resignation ends one of the longest tenures as one of the most all-powerful communist heads of state in the world.

In late July 2006, Mr. Castro, who is 81, handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raúl Castro, 76, and a few younger cabinet ministers, after an acute infection in his colon forced him to undergo emergency surgery. Despite numerous operations, he has never fully recovered but has remained active in running government affairs from behind the scenes.

Now, just days before the national assembly is to meet to select a new head of state, Mr. Castro resigned permanently, and signaled his willingness to let a younger generation assume power. He said his failing health made it impossible to return as president.

The resignation was immediately greeted by thankful realism from the McCain and Obama camps. Both candidates welcomed the end of the communist dictator's reign but pointed out the island nation has a long way to go.

Both camps are largely correct here. Even with Castro's resignation it's hard to see much change on the horizon for Cuba as long as Castro remains alive. But the clock is ticking and this will definitely be a foreign policy challenge for the next president. Then again, Castro is one tough son-of-a-bitch so you never know.