Blue Spot

AFP: Obama moves to solve his 'Latino problem'

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Barack Obama's presidential campaign has recently increased its efforts to reach Latino voters by appointing two veteran operatives to key outreach positions.

During the Democratic Party primary, rival Hillary Clinton attracted more than two-thirds of the Latino, or Hispanic, vote, making it brutally clear that Obama has problems winning over the community.

After Obama's crushing defeat in the June 1 primary in Puerto Rico, Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told reporters the results "shows that he (Obama) has a problem with the Latino community," the Politico website reported.

The Hispanic community -- 45 million people, or 15 percent of the US population -- is the largest racial minority group in the country. Many live in states expected to be hotly contested in the November 4 presidential election.

In a bid to reach Hispanic voters, Obama on Monday appointed Patti Solis Doyle, a Chicagoan of Mexican descent, to be chief of staff to his still-to-be-named vice presidential choice.

Solis managed Clinton's campaign until she was ousted in February amid a wave of acrimony following the New York senator's less-than-stellar showing on February 5, Super Tuesday primary night.

In a less visible but equally important move, Obama appointed Cuauthemoc Figueroa, a California-born former union organizer and the son of Mexican farmworkers, as the point man in his effort to attract Hispanic votes.

Obama's campaign "has been moving the pieces in a positive way over the last weeks" in an effort to attract Hispanic voters, said Sergio Bendixen, a former Clinton campaign adviser on Hispanic issues.

"In the primaries, Obama spent a lot of money campaigning for Hispanic votes, but he had little experience with the community," Bendixen told AFP.

"No offense, but his Latino outreach team was a bit limited. Now however the indications are that this is going to change," he said.

Millions of Hispanic voters live in the key battleground states of New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Florida, as well as Republican John McCain's home state of Arizona.

Whoever gains their support could carry the state, said Daniel Restrepo from the Center for American Progress, a think-tank with close ties to the Democrats.

"The Latino vote will be especially important, mainly in the southeastern states," said Restrepo.

Historically, the large Cuban-American community in Florida has voted for Republican candidates, while Hispanics in New York and California have voted Democrat. Hispanics in the southwest are mixed, with strong regional Democratic pockets.

Labels: General Election 2008, Latino community, Obama