Probably, one of the more disengeneous arguments from the Clinton campaign was to stroke the racial flames between Blacks and Hispanics. As an African American woman, I am pleased that Latinos are giving Obama a second look. I am still annoyed with the Clintons primary strategy to pit one ethnic group against another ethnic group. (Sorry, folks, it will take me a long time to forget and forgive.)
With all the hoopla on the Clinton's nonconcession speech and the secret meeting, I thought some good news is in order. According to Gallup, Obama is gaining support among Latinos. He has a 62 percent advantage over McCain with Hispanics.
Here is the Latino story, according to http://www.latimes.com/...
Hispanics and Latinos have enjoyed a long friendship fighting for civil rights. Regrettably, the alliance between Blacks and Hispanics have been overshawdowed by the media who has failed to do its job in covering the real story. Similarly, the same historic alliance has been shared between Blacks and Jews, which Obama reminded people of at the AIPAC meeting this week.
But there are signs that Obama begins the general election battle for Latinos with significant advantages.
A new Gallup Poll summary of surveys taken in May shows Obama winning 62% of Latino registered voters nationwide, compared with just 29% for McCain. Others have found a wide gap as well. The pro-Democratic group Democracy Corps compiled surveys from March through May that showed Obama with a 19-point lead among Latinos. And a Times poll published last month showed Obama leading McCain among California Latinos by 14 points.
That's why I find the Gallup poll so encouraging after the Clintons race baiting during the primary. If the poll is true, Dems have much to celebrate. Those 18 million votes - that Clinton wanted to use as bargaining chips- are diminishing before our eyes. If anything, this poll indicates that a primary vote is not equal to a general election vote.
And, the polls show Obama has room to exploit McCain's record on Latino issues.
Republicans say McCain's numbers among Latinos at the moment are disappointing -- far below the goals set by a campaign that has long believed McCain could challenge the traditional Democratic dominance of the Latino electorate.
The numbers suggest that McCain's image has suffered after a competitive GOP primary in which he renounced some of the moderate views on immigration popular among many Latinos. For example, McCain, who was a chief sponsor of legislation creating a path to citizenship for most of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, now says he believes the government must focus first on securing the U.S.-Mexico border before dealing with illegal workers.
Also I am glad to see the Obama camp moving to shore up its Latino base by appointing some highly visible Latinos to do outreach.
The Obama campaign recently hired a press spokesman to work full time on Spanish-language media.
Helping with the planning is U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Federico Pena, a former secretary of both Energy and Transportation under Bill Clinton.
Also, on Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was a point person for Clinton on Latino outreach, said he would campaign vigorously for Obama, and called him "inspiring." In comments to reporters, though, Villaraigosa sounded nostalgic about Clinton, praising her "passion and persistence and intestinal fortitude."