Cuban leader Fidel Castro must take some satisfaction in outlasting the administrations of nine U.S. presidents, some of whom oversaw clandestine efforts to kill or overthrow him. This week, at the age of 81, the cocky and defiant but now ailing dictator decided finally to pass the torch of leadership to his brother Raul. The timing, nine months before U.S. presidential elections, might portend a new strategy for U.S. relations with the Caribbean country.

But it will have to come after President Bush, who dismissed the reform-minded Raul as “Fidel Lite,” leaves office.

Cuba’s continued existence as a sovereign socialist nation just 90 miles from the U.S. must be as much a source of wonder as consternation to the CIA, State Department and other federal agencies. In addition to outlasting administrations that tried to undo him through exploding cigars, pig slaughters and a beard removal, El Presidente survived the demise of his chief underwriter, the Soviet Union.

The U.S.-Cuba relationship highlights a Cold War foreign policy dysfunction that still lingers, namely that the U.S. cannot enjoy friendly relations with nations of differing ideologies and economic philosophies. That hard-line response to communism has meant decades of wasted effort on both sides, but it is especially sad for the mostly poor 11 million Cubans.

An ABC interview with Mr. Castro in the early 1990s included footage of miles of tunnels the dictator had built, stocked with military vehicles, ready for the U.S. invasion he still believed was imminent. Meanwhile, Havana homes and businesses would lose electricity for several hours each day.

Human rights abuses were, and are, rampant as well. Nearly 50 years have passed since Mr. Castro seized power, and three generations of Cubans have been born and come of age under this repressive regime. According to news reports, many are hopeful the change in power could signal a gradual easing of state control on the economy, political discourse and travel.

The next U.S. president might be able to nudge Cuba toward that future by ending the 45-year-old trade embargo. If U.S. markets begin to gobble up Cuban products, market reforms would likely follow in Cuba to allow for more creativity, more entrepreneurship and more productivity. Similarly, allowing U.S. products to be sold in Cuba would no doubt prime the pump of demand; a taste of capitalism creates an appetite for more.

The travel ban is a bit of a joke, since many Americans – including some Mainers – regularly defy it by flying to Montreal and then to Cuba. Some go for an inexpensive vacation, others to work to improve the lot of poor Cubans.

When Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, some observers thought he might take the bold step of normalizing relations with Cuba. But perhaps Mr. Clinton’s political savvy had him pondering the backlash that would come from Cuban expatriates in electorally critical Florida, and he failed to take action. The next president, Republican or Democrat, shouldn’t be so timid.