Richardson’s endorsement and Obama’s quest for Hispanics
Dante Chinni
Posted: 03.26.2008 / 8:09 AM EDT
An endorsement is rarely a bad thing. It’s better to have friends than enemies, but the weight of an endorsement is difficult to measure. The candidate who gets one trumpets it as a sign of growing momentum while the opposition discounts its value.
But some are more complicated than others. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama last week is a good example.
There is no question it helped Mr. Obama. It came at the end of a trying week. It put another big superdelegate in Obama’s camp. Plus it was a dig at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton – Mr. Richardson was a significant cog in her husband’s administration.
But the endorsement’s impact on Obama’s quest for Hispanic voters – who have been seen as staunch supporters of Mrs. Clinton – is not easy to measure, particularly in Patchwork Nation’s communities.
In El Mirage, Ariz., our “Immigration Nation” city, feelings were mixed.
“Overall, I think it’s a plus for Obama,” says Robert Robles, one-time mayor of El Mirage. “[Richardson] is thought of as doing a pretty good job in New Mexico, and people around here know him. And to see someone of the Hispanic race get as far as he did in the presidential race means something.”
But Lupe Mercado, a waitress at the Rio Mirage campaign, was less certain of Richardson’s sway.
“I don’t think people really care about it. It will help if he speaks Spanish because the people will understand,” says Ms. Mercado. But she was not convinced his position as governor or his backing of Obama would matter much. “It’s what they can do for the people. It’s what they have done for the people.”
If Arizona’s Feb. 5 primary offers an indication of Richardson’s pull in the Southwest, it’s not an awe-inspiring picture. At that point the race was down to Obama, Clinton, and former Sen. John Edwards. The governor had dropped out of the race on Jan. 10 but remained on the ballot in the neighboring state.
Richardson did finish first in the defunct candidate group – edging out Rep. Dennis Kucinich 0.62 percent to 0.43 percent – but that’s not exactly something to put on one’s résumé.
Sure, one might say, but the Arizona contest is ancient history now. What about Pennsylvania, which is next up on April 22?
This is where ethnic politics get tricky.
Philadelphia – a Patchwork community – does have a population that is 10 percent Hispanic. That’s a decent size, even if it is nothing close to the numbers in Southwestern communities.
But unlike in the Southwest, Puerto Ricans, not Mexicans, are the predominate group in Philly. Both groups are of Hispanic origin, but they don’t always vote the same.
In fact, in Philadelphia they don’t, says Kevin Boyle, one of Patchwork’s bloggers in the city. Philadelphia’s Hispanics tend to follow the trends in Philadelphia’s African-American vote, he says.
Most places where the Richardson endorsement could have swayed Hispanics have already held their primaries. An exception is North Carolina (on May 6), which is far from Richardson’s New Mexico home.
Obama will still need Richardson’s endorsement in the fall if the Illinois senator gets the Democratic nomination. But if that happens, one would expect Richardson to work on Obama’s behalf anyway.
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March 26th, 2008 at 5:34 pm EDT
Do you work for the Clinton campaign? Honestly do you, Ola Dug? You put the same exact response on at least one other website I looked at a minute ago. Your point is very well written, I must say. Prepared perhaps? This is called SPAM and if you’re a Clinton aide then this is probably what Clinton expects you, with the dirty campaign she’s running
March 26th, 2008 at 5:42 pm EDT
Barack Obama has a deep love for people. He sees all as children of God and therefore do not desert them. He has point out where Mr. Wright is divisive, but he still love Mr. Wright. He is a true Christian … it’s unconditional love, something that few people understand. He has transcended where few people have. Does he speak language of hate after listening to 20 years of these sermons? No. If more people are like Obama, perhaps we can have peace.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:54 pm EDT
That you George Rosa for flagging a response as canned.
Support your sentiments
March 26th, 2008 at 7:01 pm EDT
I’ve had a number of controversial and influential people in my life who had their biases, their hates, their loves, their allegiances and even points of view that were so antithetical to my own as to create wonder why these people were in my life at all. As a Buddhist I’ve learned to see the “teacher” in even the nastiest people and although I wouldn’t invite them to dinner I still consider myself fortunate to have had them in my life. Obviously Mr. Wright has had some good messages about the universal love of Jesus or people who call themselves Christians wouldn’t be there to worship. If one gives a critical ear to what Mr. Wright was saying at the crescendo of what were his most volatile sermons he was referring to our moral decadence and that God should damn those values.
Mr. Obama through his actions and words has lived not a perfect life but an honest one, one that has been open and one that gives us hope and promise. To completely judge a man by his mentors is to take away the value of his free will to choose.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:22 pm EDT
…we might well talk about Richardson after the 15th regurgitation of Wright.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pm EDT
Hillary should duck and run for the nearest armored vehicle before the real truth of what she’s said sinks in. To be under fire is an unforgettable experience…it can cause PTSD…so to say that you remember and describe so vividly an experience that didn’t happen as if it were true and claim only to have misspoken is like excusing yourself for an hallucinatory experience while everyone else is watching the video of what really happened.
This is a credential for foreign diplomatic experience? This is who would be president?
Does she really need the Hispanic segment of voters, or the blacks, or the WASPs, or the Jews, or the Gray Panthers to win or just a bunch of of hallucinating idolaters that might suddenly emerge during the convention and help ensure us of another four years of insanity?
March 26th, 2008 at 8:21 pm EDT
Mr. Obama is full of smoke and mirrors … he has yet to answer the question of why he remained in a church of hate and racism for 20 years with anything more than doubletalk. His charitable donations, as seen from his recently released tax returns, are indicative of a hypocritical cheapskate as they show an average 1% of income rate of giving and even that miserable amount is primarily to the hatemonger Rev. Wright. His speeches are full of meaningless words such as “change” and “hope” without any description of what he concretely seeks to do. He lives in a multi-million dollar home, purchased with the help of a crooked associate … he speaks of sharing the wealth but lives in hypocritical opulance.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:30 pm EDT
I was disappointed to see Richardson drop out of the race, but the voters spoke. Now let’s see if some bright someone picks him as VP. I think he would be excellent, and it would be nice to have a VP that we can see sometimes. Richardson would be popular here in the Southwest. Well, actually, he IS popular here in the Southwest. He’s a decent bloke. Now, bailing out on a longtime friend, not such a decent move. But he’s got a career to build, and I really like him, so I’ll just give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. I’d like to see how this unfolds. He’s warmer than Obama, easier to know.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:01 pm EDT
Bill is fighting to return to the WH, and that is anti-constitutional. Senator Obama has to contest the Clinton dynasty machine, not just Hillary. As for Walter Mondale’s claim that it is harder for a woman to be elected POTUS instead of a black man, ask Mondale how many (white) women are in the House and Senate in contrast to how many black men. How many women attend college in contrast to black men. How do (white) women do in life with money and housing and health and mortality in contrast to black men? As a successful professional woman, I am heartily ashamed to hear someone I used to admire play the race and gender card to advantage the Clinton dynasty. Carville also speaks for the Clinton dynasty. Carville has shown tremendous disrespect for the first and only Hispanic governor and should be drummed out of the Democratic party, if the Clinton campaign will not disavow him. Hillary is a horrible liar who cannot tell the difference between truth and lie.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:11 pm EDT
I LOVE THE ****!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:33 am EDT
Do not be stupids, all are a bunch of liars.
They all represent the Establishment.
Check how all of them live, their houses, spendings, etc. They all receive “free tax” money you and I do not know, otherwise, how can they live like that.
You and me, the ones that live the reality of the bottom and common american citizens, know that it is imposible, even making 1 million a year (minus taxes, etc) to live that kind of live and spending.
It is all about power and control, for that, they use the race, change, hope, and I will do words. Lies and manipulations. Nothing good it is seing in the horizon for our country. God help us.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:40 pm EDT
I am a Latina woman who was enlightened to see Bill Richardson in the race and disappointed that he didnt get much serious consideration by the voters, but I am extremely dismayed that Mr. Richardson appears to be speaking out in support of Obama and how he can bridge the race issue, i.e., putting himself out there as if he speaks for all Hispanics! He is a ruse! and a joke! And using his endorsement for Obama for his own political gain, to get back into the Washington establishment because quite frankly, he is a “has been”. I am offended that he is trying to influence the Latino vote by thinking his endorsement means something. Obama is NOT the candidate of choice for Hispanics as has been demonstrated by the Latino vote for Hillary in all the mega super states with high Latino populations. Shame on Bill Richardson! He has sold out to Obama and betrayed the Clintons who gave him ample opportunities to prove himself during Bill Clinton’s adminstration through the cabinet level positions. So much for loyalty. He’s a back stabber and I hope other Hispanics are smart enough to realize that his endorsement of Obama means NOTHING to the majority of us Latinos!
Go Hillary!!!