The Ace of Spades HQ blog has a fun roundup of "the good, the bad, and the stupid" celebrity quotes about Maximum Leader Fidel Castro's tragically early passing on Saturday.
The good–from Ronald Reagan in 1983:
About 10 million people still live in Cuba, as compared to about I million Cuban Americans—people with the same traditions and cultural heritage, yet the Cubans in the United States, with only one-tenth the number, produce almost two times the wealth of those they left behind. So, don't let anyone fool you: What's happening in Cuba is not a failure of the Cuban people; it's a failure of Fidel Castro and of communism.
The bad–From Fidel himself:
Someday, the capitalist system will disappear in the United States, because no social class system has been eternal. One day, class societies will disappear.
The stupid–from Canada's boxin' prime minister, Justin Trudeau:
“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President.
“Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.
“While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante”.
“I know my father was very proud to call him a friend and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away. It was also a real honour to meet his three sons and his brother President Raúl Castro during my recent visit to Cuba.
“On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro. We join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.”
Oops! There was so much outrage over the above press-release eulogy that Trudeau now says he won't be attending El Comandante's funeral.
Trudeau also backpedaled and agreed that Castro was actually a "dictator" after all.
And I'd like to wind up with the most weasely reaction to Castro's death–from our very own President Obama:
History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him.
Mmm, sure will. And it will be fascinating to see how history records and judges Justin Trudeau.