Jay Leno Fidel Castro: Castro's Communism isn't Working in Cuba Video

This week a journalist reported Fidel Castro told him over a lunch of fish, salad, good bread and good red wine that the "Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore." The "Cuban model," of course, refers to Communism. Jay Leno didn't let it lie. See the video blow.

Today, we hear that the journalist "misunderstood" what Castro mumbled between dipping and munching. Immediately, the AP characterized the comment as a "joke," even before Castro claimed journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg "misunderstood."

Goldberg invited Julia Sweig to accompany him for lunch with the dictator. Sweig is a "leading Latin American scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dis Sweig misunderstand also? Yesterday, Goldberg posted a rebuttal at The Atlantic. Castro said the following:

Castro said he meant "exactly the opposite" of what was understood by Jeffrey Goldberg, who was interviewing him for The Atlantic...

On Friday, Castro said he was correctly quoted, but that, "in reality, my answer meant exactly the opposite of what both American journalists interpreted regarding the Cuban model. My idea, as the whole world knows, is that the capitalist system no longer works for the United States or the world," he said. "How could such a system work for a socialist country like Cuba?" 

Goldberg's response:

...I think the expression, "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore" means, "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore."

Fidel says that his answer meant "exactly the opposite" of what Julia Sweig and I heard him say. Just as a language experiment, here is what the opposite of his statement would sound like: "The Cuban model works so well for us that we want to export it."

We know one thing for certain, Castro was not joking. He validates his own words and notes nothing jocular about them. But...what about the AFP? They created an excuse for Castro before Castro said anything about Goldberg's report.

Was Castro setting him up, pulling his chain, joking? See the AFP screen shot in top right corner. Leno takes Castro's words seriously, and makes the point perfectly in this video. This post updated 9-12-10 at 4:10 CDT.

Jay Leno on Fidel Castro's Cuban Model Isn't Working (video)