Who Do You Love? -- Obama and McCain's Appeal to Hispanic Voters

In an earlier post, I talked about Barack Obama's apparently insurmountable lead among Hispanic voters. This is a bitter pill for Republicans, who have eyed this key constituency the same way Homer Simpson drools over doughnuts. Conservatives know that a McCain administration, already an unlikely possibility, is impossible if Obama's nearly three-to-one advantage among Latinos in the polls is an accurate indicator of Election Day.

It's looking good for Obama, whose chief appeal is that he is an inspiring, charismatic Democrat who has the added bonus of being a racial minority. For Hispanics, what's not to love about that combination?

Even the backlash from bitter supporters of Hillary Clinton, who is big among Hispanics, has not materialized. By the way, I have personally never understood the woman's superhero appeal to my fellow Latinos. I think she'd be a fine president, but how did this upper-class white lady become such a rallying point for La Raza? Feel free to enlighten me.

Also helping Obama is the fact that he hasn't completely taken the Hispanic vote for granted, as so many Democrats have done. Thus far, he doesn't seem to be ignoring us -- for that kind of treatment, we would have to be Muslim.

As for McCain, his appeal to Hispanics is that he doesn't come off as a Minuteman on immigration, and he has built up a positive reputation among Latinos in his home state of Arizona.

His negatives include the fact that he is carrying the Republican banner -- which is even less popular among Hispanics than it is with the general population -- and the perception that he looks like that old crusty sheriff from a small town who will pull you over for a busted taillight and, even if you're a citizen, end up calling la migra on you.

Stacked up side to side, it's clear that Obama has a more complicated relationship with Hispanic voters than McCain does. The dynamic between Latinos and African Americans has always been intriguing, and I will address this in a future post.

But in all likelihood, Obama will still win our vote in a couple of weeks, and commentators will trip over themselves explaining how the Latino population was the deciding factor in the election.

Regardless of who wins, of course, we expect thank-you notes and invitations to the inaugural ball.

Comments

[Freesia2]

Muchas gracias, Daniel. :-)

Estudie espanol in la universidad por tres semestres ( muchos anos in el pasado !) tan no recuerdo muchas del vocabolario, pero quiero hablo a tuyo me alegro por el voto de tuyo. Pardoname por me espanol malo.

Si si puede!

[SeanGardner]

Thanks for a great post Daniel.

I expect Obama to win Latinos too, and I expect him to win the presidency as a result of it. As an Obama volunteer here in Western Washington State, I frequently get reports from other volunteers, friends, and family in the other 49 states. And from what I'm hearing, Latinos have come out in force for Senator Obama in New Mexico's early voting period. And, they will also be there for Senator Obama in the battleground states of Colorado, Nevada, and Florida.

As an African-American born in Spanish Harlem, and raised primarily in neighborhoods in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Atlanta with both Latinos and African-Americans, it is very heartwarming to see both groups working together. It really is.

I believe an Obama presidency will be good for Latinos in many ways: (1) His surname - "Obama" - will very easily pave the way for future Latino party nominees named "Garcia", "Hernandez" and "Pasquier"; and (2), I believe Obama will name a supremely qualified Latino to the Supreme Court. I truly believe that, and I think its long overdue. And what a sight it would be to have a Latino Supreme Court Justice, some 62 years after the landmark MENDEZ v WESTMINSTER desegregation case - the case that provided the ideological underpinning of the BROWN v TOPEKA Supreme Court case six years later.

I can't wait for what's in store for this country under Obama's leadership.