What did Ros-Lehtinen say? Does it matter?

(hat tip Allah Pundit)
A YouTube video is circulating that shows a clip of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, apparently welcoming any assassination attempt on Fidel Castro. Here is the clip:



The controversial line is this:

I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro and any
leader who is oppressing the people.

Over on Kokonut Pundits, Mike McConnell has closely analyzed the clip and believes that it has been altered:

If you listen closely she says "I" twice as if she was stuttering right
before she says "welcome." This is where I believe the audio splice took place
to cover up the word "won't" if you lip read it closely without the sound.

Give it a try. I think Mike may have it right. For her part, Ileana is claiming that the tape was altered to give the wrong impression:

Ros-Lehtinen, who has never hid her loathing for Castro, says the clip was spliced together.

Watch the video closely, she says. She says her lips aren't saying what the audio says she is. At one point in the clip, a sharp-eyed viewer can see what appears to be a skip in the filming.

''It's twisted in a way that gives the viewer a totally wrong impression,'' Ros-Lehtinen said Friday. ``I've said the community has moved on, that those strategies are not being used today, but apparently the filmmakers think we're still in a '60s
mentality.''

That said, Ros-Lehtinen, born in Havana, says she will celebrate Castro's death -- whether by old age, illness or at the hands of an assassin.

''The day that Fidel Castro dies is a day that all freedom-loving Cubans will celebrate,'' Ros-Lehtinen said. ``I've been saying that for many years and I'm not shy about saying it.''

Anyone who has paid attention to politics in Florida - especially South Florida - knows that both Ileana and her colleague Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Belart have long said many unflattering things about Fidel. For someone who has represented the Cuban-exile community for so long and witnessed the results of Fidel's brutality, we can certainly understand if Rep. Ros-Lehtinen had gone as far as calling for the Evil Dictator's assassination.

We have known the Congresswomen to be honest in the past, so will trust her here.