Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC just adores leftist darling and communist dictator Fidel Castro and even took the opportunity Thursday to celebrate his 88th birthday.

Her report centered on a celebration in Cuba where Castro's "useful idiots" have been gathering to fawn over paintings and photographs of the dictator while his political prisoners rot in a jail cell somewhere.

The most notable of the attendees was Elian Gonzales, the boy at the center of a tumultuous custody battle in 1999 between his father and Miami relatives after his mother died on a raft. Elian Gonzales eventually returned to Cuba and is shown in the news report crying as he gazes upon Castro's portrait. Gonzales also praised Castro, saying he made him the person he is today.

Mitchell finished her report by recalling an interview she conducted with Castro in 2002 in which she gave him the platform to pontificate: "There will be no problem if I die tomorrow because we have lots of young people who are well-trained, who know what to do."

Castro also said his most important legacy is to "inspire a new generation of true believers in his socialist system."