David Muir Muses: Just When Can Cuba Get Off That Terrorism List?

World News anchor David Muir on Wednesday scored an exclusive interview with Barack Obama to talk about normalizing relations with Cuba. While Muir offered a couple pointed questions about the poor human rights record of the communist nation, he mostly lobbed softballs. 

One query seemed as though it was going in a challenging direction. Muir began, "The State Department's list, the state sponsors of terror. Cuba is on that list....It shares a space with Iran and with Syria on the list." But then the anchor lost his nerve and switched to a procedural  conclusion: "How soon do you see Cuba coming off that list?" [MP3 audio here. [1]]

Wouldn't a better question be why should Cuba be taken off the list? Or Muir could have read examples of the regime's brutality [2]. 

The journalist hyped a phone call between dictator Raul Castro and Obama, pressing for details: 

DAVID MUIR:  It went worldwide and now we are aware of the phone call in the last 24 hours and I'm curious if there's something in that phone call that you can share with the American people that assured you that Cuba is actually changing. 

Finally, Muir briefly managed a tough question: 

MUIR: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who says he's now exploring, looking at whether or not he'll run for president, said just this month that Cuba is a dictatorship, pure and simple. Do you agree with that? Is President Castro a dictator? 

The anchor followed-up: "But there are those who argue that the embargo should be strengthened, not weakened, pointing to the political prisoners that still do exist." 

However, he then drifted back to bland questions, such as wondering, "Will you visit Cuba in your final two-year- years as president?...Not ruling it out?" 

On NBC, Thursday, the Today [3] show [3] cheered the "new era" in U.S.-Cuba relations. Good Morning America  [4]touted Obama "helping to thaw a Cold War."  CBS This Morning [5] brought on Obama supporter Colin Powell to endorse the new Cuba policy.

A transcript of the December 17 segment is below: 

6:31

DAVID MUIR: Good evening from Washington on this historic day. For the first time since John F. Kennedy was president, at the height of the Cold War, the United States tonight restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba, that tiny island 90 miles from the Florida coast. We're just back from the White House tonight, where late today, I sat down with President Obama. The world watching as both he and Cuban President Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's brother, both standing before the cameras, revealing that the U.S. Will open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than half a century. Tonight, we have exclusive pictures shot by Senator Jeff Flake, the release of that American contractor held in prison for five years, hugging his wife. Our team on the ground from Cuba in just a moment. But first, President Obama on the secret talks, the Pope and the phone call with President Raul Castro that made it official. Mr. President, we all saw that first handshake a year ago with President Castro. 

BARACK OBAMA: Right. 

MUIR: It went worldwide and now we are aware of the phone call in the last 24 hours and I'm curious if there's something in that phone call that you can share with the American people that assured you that Cuba is actually changing. 

OBAMA: Well, I'm not sure that Raul Castro, at the age of 80-something is going to be changing significantly. But there's going to be generational change in Cuba. This last conversation was substantive. I was very insistent with him that we would continue to promote democracy and human rights and speak out forcefully on behalf of the freedom of the people of Cuba. 

MUIR: President Castro's brother, Fidel Castro, is he aware of what happened? Does he approve?  
OBAMA: I'm not sure. I don't know what Fidel Castro's health status is. That's not an issue that was raised during the conversation. 

MUIR: The Pope. 

OBAMA: Yeah. 

MUIR: We know he reached out personally to both you and to President Castro. We now learn of the secret meeting at the Vatican. How crucial a role did the Pope play in all of this? 

OBAMA: Well, he played a very important role. When I had the meeting with Pope Francis for the first time, back in the spring, this was one of the items on the agenda. And so, the assistance, not only of him and his office in providing a moral authority to the issue, but also his practical facilities in the Vatican, I think was very, very important. He is the real deal. A remarkable man and an inspiration to all. 

MUIR: Alan Gross. America watched him come home today. He looked a lot healthier than images we had seen before. Have you talked to him yet? 

OBAMA: I did. I had a chance to talk to him on his flight home and the first thing he says, "Mr. President, for you, I don't mind interrupted my corned beef sandwich." So, I told him he had mustard on his upper lip. We had a nice conversation. He, obviously, is joyful about being reunited with his family. It was tough while he was, while he was locked up. 

MUIR: The State Department's list, the state sponsors of terror. Cuba is on that list. 

BARACK OBAMA: Right. 

MUIR: It shares a space with Iran and with Syria on the list. 

OBAMA: Right. 

MUIR:  Even North Korea has been taken off the list. How soon do you see Cuba coming off that list? 

OBAMA: Well, we're going to go through a very deliberate process and review it. The key issue here is to use that list based on facts, not based on ideology. And, you know, we will examine, are there instances of Cuba sponsoring terrorism actively? 

MUIR: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who says he's now exploring, looking at whether or not he'll run for president, said just this month that Cuba is a dictatorship, pure and simple. Do you agree with that? Is President Castro a dictator? 

OBAMA; Well, it's a one party state. But keep in mind, so is China. So is Vietnam. But what we found is, we're in a position to have more influence on the course of events in those countries when we have an active ambassador there, when we have people to people exchanges. 

MUIR: But there are those who argue that the embargo should be strengthened, not weakened, pointing to the political prisoners that still do exist. The fact they can't have demonstrations against their own government there. Few have access to the internet. So, what do you say to those in this country tonight who believe we ought to be moving in the other direction? 

OBAMA: Yeah, well, I think they hold these beliefs with great sincerity. You know, if you're a Cuban exile and you saw, you know, your families driven from a country that you love, you're going to feel strongly about it, emotionally about it. And there are people who are friends of mine who, you know, who feel that way. But what I've said to them is, we have the same objective. We want to see greater freedom, greater prosperity, greater tune for ordinary Cubans.    

MUIR: Will you visit Cuba in your final two-year- years as president? 

OBAMA: You know, I don't have current plans to visit Cub a.  

MUIR: Not ruling it out? 

OBAMA: Let's see how things evolve.