The Organization of American States did the right thing by lifting the 1962 suspension on Cuba's membership in that group. And the Obama administration was wise not to block this historic move.

At the group's gathering in Honduras, the overwhelming sentiment was for lifting Cuba's suspension without conditions.

At first, it looked like the Obama administration would not yield gracefully on this one and that Washington would continue to view the group as its own little plaything.

But more prudent heads prevailed.

Ultimately, the Obama administration agreed to compromise language that Cuba's re-entry would be "the result of a process of dialogue begun at the request of the Cuban government and in line with the practices, purposes and principles of the OAS."

But who will interpret whether Cuba is in line with those practices, purposes and principles? If the OAS hopes to win its battle against irrelevance (a battle Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa says has already been lost with the advent of regional organizations such as the Rio Group), the OAS must address the previously dominant role of the United States and operate democratically.

This would entail all members having equal say on critical issues such as how democracy and the rights associated with citizenship are defined.

At the culmination of this eventful meeting of the OAS, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said, "The Cold War has ended today." Well, yes and no.

To its credit, the Obama administration has relaxed restrictions on Cuban-American travel and the sending of remittances to Cuba. Most recently, the U.S. offered to resume immigration talks with Cuba, suspended since 2003. Cuba accepted.

Encouragingly, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have voiced their support for increased dialogue with the Cuban leadership. And by repeatedly acknowledging the failures of previous policies toward Cuba and other nations in Latin America, the United States presents a more humble and introspective image.

But Obama has yet to lift the 47-year-old Cuban embargo. And sometimes Obama and Clinton sound a lot like George W. Bush on Cuba. For instance, on May 20, Clinton told the Cuban government: "Move toward democracy, release political prisoners, respect fundamental freedoms. That is what it means to be a member of the OAS."

We've heard all this before.

Almost exactly one year ago, during his annual "Cuban Independence Day" speech on May 21, President Bush said if Cuba wanted to restore relations with the United States it could start by "implementing meaningful economic reforms, respecting political freedom and human rights … and immediately releasing all prisoners of conscience." But since Abu Ghraib, Washington has been in no position to lecture other countries on human rights. And the mistreatment of prisoners down at Guantanamo Bay, right there in Cuba itself, has cast a spotlight on U.S. hypocrisy.

Every rationale for isolating Cuba is now bankrupt.

Obama should stifle the Cold War rhetoric and lift the embargo once and for all.

And the United States should get in the habit of respecting other countries in the hemisphere. That, Madam Secretary, is really what it means to be a member of the OAS.

Marguerite Rose Jimenez is assistant director of the Council on Latin America at American University in Washington.