Are Obama, McCain reaching Hispanic voters?

Juan Velazquez's words made Evelyn Hale cringe.

"I'm going for (John) McCain," said the empanada shop worker of Puerto Rican descent. "I see him more as a leader."

"Not to be racist,'' he added, "but if (Barack) Obama wins, black people are going to want back what was taken from them. . . . A lot of racial things are going to start to happen if Obama wins."

Hale, 28, left frustrated because she thinks Obama's message isn't reaching Hispanics and the Democrats aren't connecting with them as voters.

A Democrat who is half Colombian, Hale started the Hispanic Vision Forum this year with Republican co-founder Angelette Aviles, 32, who is of Puerto Rican descent. It is a nonpartisan effort that the women fund out of their own pockets to encourage Florida Hispanics to realize their political power and vote. (story here)

Comments

Democrats can connect with Hispanics just not Obama. His Hispanic agenda, campaign, and policy has been hijacked with people out of touch with culture and more in touch with revolutionary farmer worker politics.

I am not saying their is a financial or ethnic divide, as much as their is a political and cultural divde.

[Donald Lance]

The Hispanics I know are too conservative to be supporting Barry. That's why they always vote Republican, as a whole. I just don't see Barry being able to win them over.

[Dave]

I guess Mr Velasquez is unaware of Obama's recent speeches to African American crowds, calling for more personal responsibility. He also must have missed the recent brouhaha over Rev Jesse Jackson's comments because Obama isn't calling for revent for the African American community.

Obama will be a President that all Americans will come to be exceedingly proud of.

Dear Ms. Hale: The trouble is that Obama's message IS reaching people: Elect me and blacks are going to want preferences in hiring, quotas favoring them for everything: generally a free ride. That is what the nice Mr. Vasquez was trying to say.

It may be an unfair stereotype. But there is a frightening streat of truth to it. Obama doesn't care about anybody but blecks.

If this "Hispanic Vision Forum" is "non-partisan" why are they canvassing for Obama???

Nice try, Donald....

According to CNN, Kerry won Hispanics 53 to 44%

Then there's this little wrinkle to your hypothesis from the Washington Post:

In recent The Washington Post-ABC News polls (May and June combined), Obama led McCain by a wide margin among Hispanics (71 to 21 percent). His lead was 62 percent to 28 percent for McCain in the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC poll and 62 to 29 percent in Gallup data.

8:17 don't you mean "The Democrat Post"?

[Donald Lance]

8:17, I was referencing the Hispanics I know. They are all very conservative when it comes to family and Barry doesn't fit their values. I don't know any Hispanics in Chicago or NYC, so I couldn't have the foresight to determine how they view Barry.

[Maria]

Mostly I don't like that he puts down women all the time. When he said about Hillary that she is throwing the china I knew Obama was a man who did not have a good opinion of women. Maybe he will choose Hillary for VP and show he does have respect for the ' sweeties.'

I would hate to be the Israeli Prime Minister calling for US support for a strike against terrorists from a President Barack HUSSEIN Obama.

[Flagophile]

Don,

When you said "I just don't see Barry being able to win them over," you were referring to the handful of Hispanics that you know?

That's great. I'm going to email the Obama campaign immediately to let them know that they must immediately revamp their electoral college calculation.

Also, a quick question: what would the McCain supporters out here say if Maliki just endorsed McCain's plan for Iraq?

[Flagophile]

Latest polls in Ohio and Missouri show Obama up by 8 points. Even Virginia is tied.

As I've said before, these polls are relatively meaningless this far out (although more important than national polls).

However, it makes clear that the McCain people out here either don't read or are outright lying when they suggest that Obama's numbers are falling.

I bet there's a lot of concern inside McCain headquarters.

[E. Burke]

46 to 4.

It's official...Obama is an idiot...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBO5s8NUOxw

"If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?"

"No, because keep in mind that question, you wouldn't ... but keep in mind that kind of hypothetical is very difficult to know hindsight is 20-20 ... later ... but I think that what I'm absolutely convinced of is that at that time we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with."

Uhhhh, what?

Evelyn Hale is smokin hot. She makes me want to become a Democrat - well, almost...

[Obama is fake and is a socialist. look to fascist italy for the socialism he wants.]

Andrea Mitchell might be a doyenne of the liberal media, but she has her reporter's pride and principles, both of which have been trampled by the way the Obama campaign has managed the media during the candidate's current trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. Mitchell let loose on this evening's Hardball, speaking of "fake interviews" and indicating we don't know the truth of the trip because we don't know what was edited out

[TIME Magazine prints the Truth on McCain's Chances]

"Let's just admit it: John McCain is a long shot. He's got a heroic personal story, and being white has never hurt a presidential candidate, but on paper 2008 just doesn't look like his year. And considering what's happening off paper, it might be time to ask the question the horse-race-loving media are never supposed to ask: Is McCain a no-shot?"

"Analysts get paid to analyze, and cable news has airtime to fill, so pundits have an incentive to make politics seem complicated. In the end, though, it's usually pretty simple. Everyone seems to agree that 2008 is a change election. Which of these guys looks like change?"

Source:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1825337,00.html

[McCain is a flip-flopper who flipped in the wrong direction. Bush III.]

John McCain makes a poor president before he accepted the Bush endorsement. Why on earth would anyone want him now that he's pledged to give us four more yours of the Bush disaster???

SSSHHHH....You guys had better keep quiet...

We are not allowed to question the Messiah on his infinite wisdom, lest we be smote down by the hand of God, himself.

It says so in the Democrat Bible, "The Audacity of Hope", written by the Great One, Himself.

All kneel to Lord Obama, for he is our Messiah, come to save us from ourselves, our SUV's, food and air conditioning!

Isn't it true that the Messiah is a political leader will put an end to the earthly reign of the AntiChrist? Given G. Bush's slide into evil, maybe there is something to that Obama Messiah stuff!

[Flagophile]

I think it's hysterical that the McCain people, the same one's that have supported the Bush Administration all this time no less, are now complaining that Obama is trying to quiet dissension.

[Che Guevara]

10:14-

Yes, we must blindly follow our Obamessiah, for he is the only one to show us the one true way to a worker's socialist utopia, where we can all be poor and miserable together!

Down with the capitalist pig!

Down with freedom!

We must unite Comrades!

I heard John McCain was born in Panama.

The U.S. Constitution says our Presidents have to be born in American.

[Obama supporters are stupid sheep]

My God, some of you people are idiots...Please learn some history..

The First Congress, on March 26, 1790, approved an act that declared, "The children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond sea, or outside the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural-born citizens of the United States."

10:32-

Stop insulting sheep in that way...sheep are WAY smarter than Obama supporters.

[President Obama]

"In this photo released by the U.S. army, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, left, and top U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, talk as they take a helicopter ride over Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 21, 2008. Iraq's government welcomed Obama on Monday with a message of apparent common ground on American troop withdrawal goals: expressing hopes that combat forces could leave by 2010."

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Barack-Obama-Iraq-US-army-Baghdad2C-Iraq/photo//080721/481/581320f365c04cd0816ca91733e1a9f8//s:/ap/20080721/ap_on_el_pr/embassies_candidates;_ylt=AguYZwk2cOffzh_M7_xLWRBh24cA%3Cimg

Obama is a card carrying Muslim who wants to destroy America!!!

McCain is a recently created Bush III neo-con who will continue to destroy America!!!

[thinkinlogical]

11:08AM You are a racist white republican who uses the same old scare tactics. How is Obama a Muslim when you white people complain about his CHRISTIAN church. Stop being racist scar tactic using idiot and vote for yourself. The candidate with the most votes wins. Its that simple.

Obama is Muslim and he's racist!

Obama, worse than GWB!!!!

I'm voting for Ralph Nader!!!

Why is Iraq in sync with the "Obama withdraw plan"? Easy, it's part of the Muslim plan to take over the U.S. I guess they think American voters won't see through it.

[sean davis]

My problem with this quote is it gives the impression that this puerto rican woman thinks she's white! My Gawd! The nerve!

[Stop Obama]

Obama and his storm troopers are attempting to intimidate the Hillary supporters into voting for him. It won't happen! Join our cause:

http://www.NotFallingInLine.com.

[Michelle Obama's Patented Subject Changer]

You know, this whole discussion is not helping Michelle Obama's kids...

[Squash the Chaos Toad]

Rush Limbaugh and his opiated toad-like supporters are attempting to downplay the disaster of Bush and his chosen heir, John McCain. It's not going to work. Put your foot down! Join our cause:

http://www.AmericansSquashFatOpiatedToads.com

[Obama Is A Phony]

Obama is a creation of the media and now even liberal reporters are starting to question the Messiah's fake interviews. Read more:

At this hour, Sen. Barack Obama is holding a news conference in Jordan, which the cable news networks are carrying. But last night Newsbusters reported on NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell who let loose some of her frustrations with the lack of access being given to reporters on the trip, specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mitchell's comments came during an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews.

"You're seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military and what some would call fake interviews because they're not interviews from a journalist," she said. "Politically, it's smart as can be, but we have not seen a presidential candidate do this, in my recollection, ever before."

When questioned by Matthews about some of the video from Obama's time in Iraq, Mitchell continued. "I can't really say, being a reporter who was not present in any of those situations, I just can't report on what was edited out, what was on the sidelines," said Mitchell. "We don't know what we are seeing."

Watch out America--we may be getting somethig our to the mold of "American Idol"!!!

[Ron Paul for President 2008]

"Citing a lack of interest, the Nevada Republican Party has called off its state convention."

The state party broke up its original convention in April when supporters of Ron Paul overwhelmed the proceedings and tried to elect delegates for their candidate to the national GOP convention.

"Party officials tried to reconvene on July 26, but they needed a quorum of 675 and received only 300 RSVPs."

"Ron Paul's standard-bearers in Nevada continue to press his cause, hoping to shift the Republican Party toward the libertarian positions he advocated in his campaign."

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/18/nevada-gop-cancels-convention-opts-for-conference-call/

Barack Obama is a phony. He's a black version of Charlie Crist. And look at what we got with that guy!!! OMG!!!!

[Go Cynthia]

Ron Paul, old news! He's more senile than McCain.

The real deal: Cynthia McKinney!

Our black hope for the future of America!

[Mrs. Alan Greenspan pouts]

11:59
Andrea Mitchell aka Mrs. Alan Greenspan, should be questioning what her husband, Alan Greenspan, and the Republicans have done to our economy rather than whining about her being ignored for an interview with Obama.

By the way, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric of NBC, ABC and CBS evening news made the overseas trek with Obama.

11:44.....

What quote are you referring to? From Angelette are from Juan? Juan makes a remark about race in the beginning of this article. He makes an interesting point that many Hispanics, especially dark skin Hispanics, don't consider themselves black or white, but Hispanic or Latino. In places like Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries there is no census or job/school application that has the option to fill out race. The consider themselves as one, such as we should consider ourselves American before anything else.

[Vote for Obama]

Chris Matthews endorses Obama on Jay Leno show.

"I hope for one thing when people go to vote: that they look at Barack's background, that they look at the age of the two candidates, that they look at their abilities and really open up their hearts and say "what's really good for my kids," who don't have any color awareness.

Kids don't think about race.

Think like your kids for once.

Think the way they think.

It would be great if the older people in the country, the 70 year olds, the 80 year olds who are suspicious of change to say, "you know, why don't I think the way my kids are thinking and think about the future."

Whatever they decide, just open up your heart to this prospect of something different.

That's what I hope we do".

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a81/kos102/2008/Video/?action=view¤t=matthews-openyourheart2.flv

"Chris Matthews endorses Obama"

This just in...

Former Jimmy Carter hack endorses Obama.

I so did not see this coming...

By the way, if i voted like my kids, Big Bird would be President...

Not that i think Big Bird is a bad guy, but he's about as qualified as, well, Obama.

2:06-

No way...

Big Bird is WAY more qualified than Obama.

[Donald Lance]

1:56, you don't have kids, do you? My son sees colors and points it out quite frequently. Usually, his statements go like this, "Why is there only white people at the beach"? Or, "There are 3 Philippinos and 2 Vietnamese in my class(1st grade). Being that Chris Matthews is in the Media, maybe you should ignore his comments since even mentioning the name "Barack Obama" makes his legs move. This is 6 year old wisdom trumping a political hack on TV. Kids speak their mind and political hacks slant the facts.

Barack Obama = Reverend Jeremiah Wright

Barack Obama = Father Michael Pfleger

Barack Obama = Dangerous for America