Obama and the Latino Vote

[groovedaddy]

By the time she finished clapping, Roselia Rameriez had made up her mind. Ramirez, who had traveled to Washington from Big Spring, Tex., to attend the national convention of LULAC--the League of United Latin American Citizens-- entered the Washington Hilton Tuesday afternoon still undecided about who she would support for president. Though a lifelong Democrat, who had only gone over to the other side once, to vote for Ronald Reagan, she had been unsure through the spring. But after hearing the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, give an impassioned speech that stirred the subterranean interiors of the Hilton's International Ballroom, Ramirez related to him in a new way. Once she had heard his thoughts on how to help Latino children, and of his own experience as a community organizer in Chicago, everything suddenly seemed clear.

"Now I will vote for Obama," Ramirez said.

For those covering the campaign, this sort of statement is pretty familiar. Obama, is, after all a political figure of rock star status, whose live performance can still move people to his cause. But what made this case different was the disparity between the crowd's reaction and what one thought it would be only a month ago. This was supposed to be a tough room for Obama. Instead it was his, and his alone.

It wasn't supposed to be this easy. During the Democratic primaries, Obama's chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had made Latinos an integral part of her campaign and her coalition. Many, in fact, thought Latinos would, out of a sense of supreme loyalty, throw their support behind someone else (see John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee).

http://www.truthout.org/article/obama-and-latino-vote

[babylonsister]

1. Here's another really positive article about LULAC and Obama

that was ignored completely. The Hispanic vote is going to be extremely important in November, so I'm glad Obama is impressing.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6478115&mesg_id=6478115

[groovedaddy]

2. This particular article also points to why Obama has to make sure and speak

to as many people as possible - IN PERSON.
The woman in the article was undecided until SHE HEARD HIM SPEAK.
Obama got hammered in the Kentucky primary by Hillary. There are several reasons why, but the biggest one has to be that Obama has not reached out to the rural areas in this state. I firmly believe that had he done what the Clintons did in this state (focused on rural areas) it would have been a different story. He can still do it for the GE though.
People who hear Obama in person are impressed. It needs to happen more and more.