As I look towards the Straits of Florida . . . there is increasing hope for a better forecast
Of the total exile vote, Obama took 48 per cent - up from 25 per cent in 2000 - as younger voters flocked to him in unprecedented numbers. Polls have also shown that this same youth cohort supports an end to the embargo.
All of which may mean that the half century-old veto held by old-guard Cuban émigrés over any change in the US relationship with Cuba may have ended. While there is little hope here that Obama will be emboldened enough to take an historic decision to end the embargo, it is speculated that he may now at least make a significant move towards improving relations, such as by allowing non-Cuban US citizens to travel to and to spend money here.
More freedom
As that window of opportunity opens in Florida, a new vista is also emerging in Cuba with significant step-changes by its pragmatic and popular President Raul Castro, who is gradually moving to shrink the state, free up the economy and increase personal freedoms.
This has seen more and more Cubans working for themselves in farming and in small businesses. Cubans may also buy and sell cars and houses now. Increasingly they have access to the internet - and mobile phones are everywhere.
In January, new legislation comes into effect that will allow Cubans the freedom to travel abroad - a measure long yearned for by younger Cubans in particular.
But they will also face income taxes for the first time in their history.
In the medium term, President Castro must still tackle the two-tier currency issue - one for tourists and one for locals - the distorting effects of which results in many goods and services being outside the range of most ordinary workers.
But as former president Fidel Castro slips off the radar and out of conversations, many Cubans tentatively hope that Raul may find in Barack Obama a North American partner he can trust and can begin to work with in moving towards the final chapter on the last cold war front in the western hemisphere.
And as I continue to make my way along the Malecón, I can dream of booking a ticket on one of those night boats to New Orleans.
