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Castro praises Obama

HAVANA: Cuban leader Fidel Castro praised Barack Obama on Tuesday as smarter and less warlike than John McCain, but stopped short of endorsing either U.S. presidential candidate.

Mr. Castro said he delayed weighing in until the U.S. election day so that “no one would have time to say I wrote something that could be utilised by the candidates in their campaigns.

“Without a doubt, Obama is more intelligent, cultured and level-headed than his Republican adversary,” Mr. Castro wrote in newspapers. “McCain is old, bellicose, uncultured, of little intelligence and not healthy.”

The Cuban leader also expressed scepticism over both candidates. “Worries about the overwhelming problems of the world will not really occupy an important place in the mind of Obama and much less in that of a candidate who, as a fighter pilot, dropped dozens of tons of bombs on the city of Hanoi,” he wrote, alluding to Mr. McCain’s military service.

Mr. Castro also wrote that if the Republicans win due to U.S. racism, “the danger of war will increase and the opportunities for peoples to move forward will be reduced.” — AP

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