President Obama's campaign is undercutting Mitt Romney's efforts to sell his economic plan to Latino voters this week with a new video mocking the GOP nominee's Hispanic outreach as one of Romney's "most implausible makeovers yet.”
The ad accuses the GOP candidate of trying to make “his extreme policies seem appealing to Latino voters."
The nearly two-minute Web video hits Romney ahead of a concerted push to appeal to Latino voters through appearances at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and at a "Meet the Candidate" segment on Spanish-language "Univision News."
Romney's campaign also released a Web video on Monday highlighting Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Sept. 15. Romney, speaking directly to the camera in the video, says this is a good time "to go beyond partisan divides and to look deeper into the lives and accomplishments of Americans of Hispanic descent.”
But the Obama campaign video tweaks the format of an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," a program where a team helps remodel disheveled homes, against its competitor.
"Romney only has a few short weeks to overhaul his positions and slow his declining popularity with Latino voters," says a voiceover in the ad. "Can he cover up his belief in self-deportation with a bold new wallpaper choice?"
The ad hits Romney on "self-deportation,” along with his promise to repeal the president’s healthcare reform law and admission that he would veto the DREAM Act. All three will likely come up in Romney's interviews with Univision this week, which will be broadcast in English and Spanish.
Obama has a sizable lead among Hispanics, a key voting bloc in many swing states, with two recent polls from NBC News/The Wall Street Journal/Telemundo and Latino Decisions-impreMedia showing Obama with more than 60 percent support and Romney trailing in the 20s. According to Latino Decisions, the gap is even wider in favor of Obama among Latino women.
Obama’s standing among Hispanic voters was boosted by his decision to halt the deportation of some young illegal immigrants.
Romney has criticized the decision and said he would focus his efforts on “comprehensive” immigration reform if elected.
—Updated on 8:52 a.m.
