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As the Senate concludes its debate on the immigration bill, the presidential campaigns are highlighting the importance of the Hispanic vote in the race for the White House by increasingly catering to the demographic. The two Spanish-speaking Democratic candidates, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, jumped at the opportunity this week to debate in Spanish on the Univision television network. “We have an historic opportunity and a central obligation to address the ever-growing Latino community this election,” Dodd said when accepting the invitation to the Sept. 9 debate. “The next president needs to be someone who can speak to this important segment of our population, and those within our same hemisphere, on issues from immigration to education to foreign affairs.” Richardson challenged other Democratic candidates to join him at the event. “We should be committed to reaching the broadest range of Americans possible, and the Latino community is critical to winning the nomination and the presidency in 2008,” he said. The non-Spanish-speaking candidates are doing their part. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is providing closed-captioning in the language on his campaign videos, and the candidate said this is “just a small step that allows us to connect further with people in the online community.” Later today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will announce his Hispanic Steering Committee. Fellow Republican candidate Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) has been taking Spanish lessons. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) last week touted the endorsement of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in what the Democratic front-runner hopes will help her to reach out to Hispanics. Like those of the other major Democratic candidates, Clinton’s website is available in Spanish. Of the top GOP candidates, only Romney is displaying prominently a button that allows Spanish speakers to read his site. |
