

The handshake between President Obama and Raul Castro on Dec. 10. / Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

WASHINGTON - A spokesman for President Obama said Wednesday it is "unfortunate" that some Republicans criticized Obama's handshake with Cuban leader Raúl Castro while the president was representing the nation overseas.

"There used to be a pretty important principle that originated in the Republican Party, I believe, that partisan politics should stop at the water's edge," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "And it's unfortunate that we did see a number of Republicans yesterday who criticized the president for a handshake at Nelson Mandela's funeral."

Earnest also questioned comments by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who likened the handshake to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's dealings with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during the 1930s.

"I've been asked about other people who have tried to draw connections between recent political events and the terrible reign of Adolf Hitler," Earnest said."That is a dangerous and usually unwise thing to do in public."

In an interview with Public Radio International, McCain said, "Why should you shake hands with somebody who's keeping Americans in prison?" and added that "Neville Chamberlain shook hands with Hitler."

Another critic, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said that "when the leader of the free world shakes the bloody hand of a ruthless dictator like Raúl Castro, it becomes a propaganda coup for the tyrant. Castro uses that hand to sign the orders to repress and jail democracy advocates."

White House officials said that Obama and Castro - both of whom were speakers at the public memorial for Mandela - only "exchanged some pleasantries" during a very brief chat.

"There was not an opportunity for the president to chronicle his many concerns about human rights abuses on the island of Cuba," Earnest said.

He added: "The president shook hands with everybody who was on the stage, and Mr. Castro was one of those individuals who was on the stage."

Copyright 2014

Read the original story: White House knocks GOP for Castro handshake criticism


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