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The political divide over President Obama鈥檚 surprise move toward rapprochement with Cuba is both partisan and generational.

But not entirely.

At Jos茅聽Mart铆 Park in Miami鈥檚 Little Havana Saturday, there was a rally to protest Obama鈥檚 announcement on Cuba. An estimated 250 people participated 鈥� fewer than likely would have taken part in the past.

鈥淚t's a betrayal of us Cubans,鈥� Ebelio Ordo帽ez, who was born in Cuba 69 years ago but has lived in the United States for 46 years, told the Miami Herald.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 make deals with tyrants, one who has made no concessions to the Cuban people in more than 50 years,鈥� Mr. Ordo帽ez said. 鈥淚 would give my life for this country and for Cuba. But this is not good for the Cuban people.鈥�

As if to bolster such opposition to the Cuban regime run by Fidel Castro and now his brother Ra煤l, the younger President Castro said Saturday that normalizing relations with the US would not mean that Cuba gives up its socialist principles.

"In the same way that we have never demanded that the United States change its political system, we will demand respect for ours," Ra煤l Castro told the National Assembly.

Despite improved relations, he said, Cuba faces a "long and difficult struggle" to end the US economic embargo. For one thing, he said, Cuban-American exiles will attempt to "sabotage the process.鈥�

No doubt he had in mind many state and local elected officials in Florida (and large numbers of their constituents), plus US Senators Marco Rubio (R) of Florida and Ted Cruz (R) of Texas.

But they don鈥檛 speak for Ra煤l Moas, 26, president of Roots of Hope, a group that helps young professionals in Cuba. He was born in the United States after his parents left Cuba in the 1960s.

"I don't have the scars of exile," Mr. Moas told USA Today.

"I'm able to empathize with that. I'm able to slip on their shoes at times and, through their stories and pictures, live that for a moment,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I'm also able to remove myself from that and see it from a different perspective."

That different perspective is shared by most younger Cuban-Americans, according to recent polls.

In Florida International University鈥檚 most recent (2014), 48 percent of Miami-Dade County鈥檚 Cuban-Americans support continuing the embargo 鈥� down from 87 percent when the poll began in 1991.

鈥淎 large majority favors diplomatic relations with Cuba (68 percent), with younger respondents strongly backing the policy shift (90 percent),鈥� the poll reports. 鈥淎 large majority of respondents (69 percent) favor the lifting of travel restrictions impeding all Americans from traveling to Cuba. Younger respondents overwhelmingly endorse this policy shift (89 percent), as do the most recent arrivals (80 percent).鈥�

In other word, the younger generation of Cuban-Americans coming along behind their parents and grandparents is much more open to the kind of changes Obama announced.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not making any more of the old-guard, Cold War exile types, and they are making lots more of the new migrants,鈥� Guillermo Grenier, a sociologist at Florida International University and the lead investigator for the FIU Cuba Poll, told the Boston Globe.

Most of Obama鈥檚 political opposition here is from Republicans. Sens. Rubio and Cruz are just the most vocal.

From his libertarian perspective, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky backs Obama, and he鈥檚 gotten into a sharp rhetorical duel with Sen. Rubio on the subject.

A handful of other Republicans applaud Obama鈥檚 move on Cuba.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 often agree with President Obama, but he was right to begin the process of normalizing relations with Cuba,鈥� Sen. Jeff Flake聽(R) of Arizona told Politico.

鈥淭he funny thing about freedom is that when people experience a little more of it, they don鈥檛 want to give it up and they want more than they have,鈥� Sen. Flake said. 鈥淭hat has been the case with travel and will continue to be the case in Cuba.鈥�

鈥淔or those who say this is a concession somehow to the Cuban regime 鈥� I think that that is a wrong way to look at it. That is simply wrong,鈥� said Flake. 鈥淭he policy that we鈥檝e had in place for the past 50 years has done more in my view 鈥� to keep the Castro regimes in power than anything we could鈥檝e done.鈥�

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) of Utah said he finds the current ban on Americans traveling to Cuba 鈥渞idiculous,鈥� according to Politico鈥檚 report.

鈥淭here are other provisions that I really need to study and look at, but the idea of allowing Americans their free choice to make their own decision about going to Cuba 鈥� I applaud that and support it,鈥� Rep. Chaffetz told KSL radio.

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, who wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan, takes the long view. She writes:

鈥淚f the new policy succeeds and leaves an old foe less active and avowed we will be better off, and it鈥檚 always possible, life being surprising, that we鈥檒l be much better off. If the policy fails we鈥檒l be no worse off than we were and can revert back to the old order, yanking out our embassy and re-erecting old barriers.

鈥淣othing will make Cuba democratic overnight. But American involvement and presence 鈥� American tourists and businessmen, American diplomats, American money, American ways and technology 鈥� will likely in time have a freeing effect. With increased contact a certain amount of good feeling will build. And that could make Cuba, within a generation or even less, a friend. And that would be good for the American national interest, because it鈥檚 better to have a friend 90 miles away than an active and avowed enemy.

鈥淲ith a real opening, including lifted embargoes, all the pressure year by year would be toward more back-and-forth, greater prosperity, and more freedom squeaking in by Internet and television.

"In a rising Cuba all the pressure will be toward freedom. It will not be toward dictatorship.鈥�