President Obama came back to Miami in early November, as part of a major fund-raising campaign to shore up support for Congressional Democrats just as his approval ratings have reached their lowest levels.

Not losing Florida’s 29 electoral votes was and remains a chief obsession for the Democratic Party.

In its understanding of Florida politics, the Cuban-American political machine is a key player. Events in 2000 and 2012 proved that.

Notably, for the first time in more than five years, the president admitted that “we’ve started to see changes on the island.”

During his Nov. 8 speech, Obama spoke of “the need to overcome the legacy of the Cuba policies since 1961.” He said Washington must be “creative” and “thoughtful,” and that “we have to continue to update our policies.”

It all sounds good, especially the part about leaving behind outdated policies from 1961.

But does that mean ending the embargo and taking Cuba off the State Department list of countries that sponsor terrorism? Or sitting down and talking with Cuban officials about past differences, including mutual claims?

Or acknowledging the changes that have taken place in Cuba already, and the many others to take place over the next four years?

Apparently not. In fact, exactly the opposite may happen.

Since Obama’s inauguration in 2009, his administration has increased pressures and hostile actions not only against the Castro regime but also against foreign banks and companies conducting operations or trading with Cuba (see CubaNews, October 2013, page 7).

Immediately after Cuba announced passage of Decree-Law 313 which authorizes a special development zone at the Port of Mariel west of Havana the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control cautioned Cuba’s trading partners against shipping from or conducting business there.

More recently, European bankers and companies in Havana are complaining of threats and pressures coming from the United States on account of their business dealings in Cuba.

Obama played his hand in Miami with very old cards. In addition to a group of exile lawmakers that included Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), he met with Jorge Más Santos, president of the American National Foundation. The CANF was established by Jorge Más Canosa in 1981, but has never offered creative or thoughtful ideas about how to resolve the crisis in U.S.-Cuba relations.

Obama could have met with those Miami-based Cubans favoring dialogue and reconciliation men like Carlos Saladrigas, Alfredo Durán or Antonio Zamora but he didn’t.

At the Pinecrest home of Jorge Más Santos, Obama spoke privately with Guillermo Fariñas, spokesman for the Unión Patriótica de Cuba, and Berta Soler, head of Ladies in White. Both have been around for more than 10 years, yet neither are capable of organizing any grass-roots or mass movement within Cuba, or of achieving any significant backing.

These dissidents merely attend receptions at foreign embassies in Havana and travel overseas to ensure funding from abroad.

Are these the necessary tools to update U.S. Cuba policy? Certainly not. The reality is that the Obama administration is hewing closely to the legacy of 1961, while avoiding any creative or thoughtful approach to Cuba.

Nothing on the horizon suggests we should expect any new initiatives from the White House aimed at a constructive engagement with the Castro government.