Romney Spanish language ad slams Obama on the economy
(CBS News) Days after President Obama announced a possibly game-changing immigration reform, Republican Mitt Romney is reminding Latino voters of a more pressing issue than immigration reform: The economy.
The Romney campaign today released a 30-second, Spanish-language ad that slams President Obama for saying recently that the private sector is "doing fine." The ad is essentially a Spanish-language version of the spot released last week in English.
With urgent, ominous music playing, the ad highlights dismal statistics: 23.2 million Americans in need of work and an 11 percent unemployment rate among Hispanics. It then cuts to a clip of President Obama from his June 8 press conference in which he said, "the private sector is doing fine."
A Univision/ ABC News poll from early 2012 showed that a significant portion of Latinos nationally -- 46 percent -- said immigration was the most pressing issue facing Latinos. However, jobs and the economy managed to trump immigration with 50 percent calling it the most important issue.
The Romney campaign would not give details of where the ad will run, but it's clear the Republican candidate wants to appeal to Latino voting blocs in critical swing states like Florida and Colorado.
On Friday, Mr. Obama announced his administration would stop deporting many young, undocumented immigrants and instead offer them an opportunity to acquire work permits. Immigration reform and Latino advocates praised the move, saying it should boost the level of enthusiasm Latinos feel about supporting Mr. Obama this year.
On CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Romney called the move a politically motivated, temporary solution and said that undocumented youth deserve a long-term solution. The president "should have worked on this years ago if he felt seriously about this," Romney said. "He saves these sort of things until four-and-a-half months before the general election."
The Obama campaign, meanwhile, announced on Monday an endorsement from Emmy award-winning talk show host Cristina Saralegui. The Hispanic talk show host is a well-known and respected figure in the Hispanic community. "We're honored to have Cristina be a spokesperson for the campaign, speaking directly to Hispanic voters about the president's accomplishments," campaign manager Jim Messina said.
Both Mr. Obama and Romney will have an opportunity to address the Latino community this week when they deliver remarks at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials annual conference.
