McCain, Obama Address Hispanic Group

Candidates Focus On Economy In Speeches To League Of United Latin American Citizens

(CBS/ AP)  Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama pitched competing economic plans to Hispanics on Tuesday, the second time in as many weeks the presidential candidates directly appealed to this critical constituency.

The rivals, to be sure, were pressing anew their support for comprehensive immigration reform, a bedrock issue for Latinos, in separate speeches to the League of United Latin American Citizens.

But each was primarily focused on making his case that he - and not his opponent - could best lead the country out of economic straits and help the middle class achieve prosperity.

It's a poignant message for the audience, an organization that advocates social and economic policies benefiting Hispanics. The economy, health care, education and providing opportunities to reach what politicians call the American dream are issues that resonate strongly with members of the fastest growing minority group, many of whom came to the United States in search of a better life.

So, both candidates sought to show they best relate to - and can help - voters struggling with gas prices, job layoffs and home foreclosures.

"At its core, the economy isn't the sum of an array of bewildering statistics," McCain said. "It's about the aspirations of the American people to build a better life for their families; dreams that begin with a job."

Obama struck a similar chord later, saying in prepared remarks that the election is about "making sure that we have a government that knows that a problem facing any American is a problem facing all Americans" and "giving all Americans a fair shot at the American dream."

Both outlined the core tenants of their economic plans as they have elsewhere this week.

"I have a plan to grow the economy, create more and better jobs, and get America moving again," McCain said, promising to help small businesses prosper, make health care more affordable, improve education and free the country from its dependence on foreign oil.

Said McCain: "If you believe you should pay more taxes, I am the wrong candidate for you. ... Jobs are the most important thing our economy creates."

The crowd greeted him warmly, applauding at several lines and giving him a respectable send-off.

Obama, for his part, promised to cut taxes for small business owners, end tax breaks for companies that "ship jobs overseas," solve the housing crisis, help struggling homeowners, and invest in infrastructure to create new jobs in the hard-hit construction industry.

He also laced his speech with criticisms of McCain's economic plans. Accusing McCain anew of backing off comprehensive immigration reform, Obama said the Arizona senator "abandoned his courageous stance" during the primary season.

"For eight long years, we've had a president who made all kinds of promises to Latinos on the campaign trail, but failed to live up to them in the White House, and we can't afford that anymore," Obama said.

Last month, McCain and Obama pledged to make overhauling the country's immigration a priority in separate appearances to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. McCain assured that audience that he wouldn't pursue the enforcement-only approach sought by hard-line GOP conservatives, while Obama accused McCain of walking away from comprehensive immigration reform.

Both McCain and Obama support a temporary worker program and eventual path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country illegally. But after a comprehensive Senate bill failed last summer amid coast-to-coast public outcry that split the GOP, McCain has added that the borders must be secure first before people will accept other reforms.

McCain also lamented that nearly half of Hispanics who enter high school do not graduate with their class, reports CBS News' John Bentley.

“In many schools, particularly where people are struggling the hardest, the situation is dire,” he said. “I believe sincerely it is the civil rights challenge of our time.”

Both candidates also are scheduled to speak to the National Council of La Raza annual conference in San Diego later this month.

They are making aggressive plays for this fickle Democratic-leaning group that could tip the balance in battleground states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and others with large numbers of Spanish-speaking voters.

Obama was blunt about their importance: "This election could well be decided by Latino voters." He recalled that in the 2004 presidential election 40,000 Latinos registered to vote in New Mexico didn't turn out on Election Day, and Democrat John Kerry lost the state by less than 6,000 votes.

A recent AP-Yahoo News poll showed that Obama leads McCain among Hispanics, 47 percent to 22 percent with 26 percent undecided.

Still, Obama, who is trying to become the first black president, doesn't have a lock on Hispanics. During the primaries, Hispanics preferred Clinton to Obama by nearly 2-to-1.

McCain senses an opportunity based on his links to the West and Republican inroads four years ago.

President Bush captured about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, to Democratic rival John Kerry's 58 percent, down from the 62 percent former Vice President Al Gore got in 2000. Still, in the 2006 congressional elections, Democrats scored their biggest win among Hispanics since 1996.

[l00ker]

Being bilingual is a matter of choice in America, but if there is to be one language of commerce and government, then that language always has been and always will be english. There are very few recordings asking to press 2 for Chinese, 3 for Russian, 4 for Swedish and 5 for Indian, and english as the national language is what has made America what it is today. English, American History, American Civics are some of the reasons why we''ve stayed together - although not without our troubles - for this long. A latino who has been in the country for more than one year, and speaks fluent english, is a latino who cares more about the country, than just how take advantage of the social structure. These people need to run the gauntlet of citizenship and loyalty in the same manner as of of those who came before them, except those who were given amnesty by Reagan. Dumb move, which brought over all of these latino criminals and gangsters, who will need to be dealt with by the posse of the every day law abiding American citizen, and of course patriotic law enforcement. No civil war, just a little bit of pest control, and who gives a rat''s @ss about what that criminal Mexican and any other corrupt central and south American government has to say about it. This is OUR country.

[jtyler271]

Posted by obama8years at 10:11 AM : Jul 09, 2008

The funny thing is that most (definitely not all) immigrants already speak English.

Chinese, Russian, Swedish, and Indian students are all bilingual. Why is it so far-fetched for our children to be held to the same standard? I mean, we are one of the World leaders, correct?

[l00ker]

http://www.lulac.org/index.html

Another bunch of latino extortionists, who pander to the wh0res in public office, if not buy them outright. All of these "proud" latino traitors and their illegal parasites practice the well known art of extortion, by labeling anyone who sees what their racket is as a racist. Well, if being a legal citizen of the country, and wanting these mostly latino illegal parasites and the ones that they f@rted out here out of the country makes an American racist, then the illegal freeloaders can take their strollers, and can feel free to stroll their @sses out of our "racist" country. There.

[l00ker]

Both Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama want to give illegal immigrants in this counry amnesty and secure the borders-But neither candidate seems interested in
enacting new laws if needed, and enforcing existing laws to keep illegal immigrants from being able to
exist in this country-illegally. Being weak on illegal immigration, the businesses that hire illegal immigrants, and appeasing these parties that break the laws here, will never work, and will only make the illegal immigration problems worse and more expensive to correct in the future.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by frankinaz at 03:07 PM : Jul 09, 2008


No presidential candidate of the US should even think about appeasing these latino traitors, who are more concerned about the countries from whence they''ve come from, than they are about the overall health of our country. No one group can have its own agenda forced down the nose of all the rest, and these illegal border criminals should be hauled out of here, including these others who facilitate them. The litmus test for any politician running for office should, and soon will, be how fast can you get these illegal parasites off of the public dole, and out of the country.

[frankinaz]

Both Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama want to give illegal immigrants in this counry amnesty and secure the borders-But neither candidate seems interested in
enacting new laws if needed, and enforcing existing laws to keep illegal immigrants from being able to
exist in this country-illegally. Being weak on illegal immigration, the businesses that hire illegal immigrants, and appeasing these parties that break the laws here, will never work, and will only make the illegal immigration problems worse and more expensive to correct in the future.

[dnsallday]

PUNISHED with a baby, yes he said Punished. And he thinks true christians and evangelicals will vote for a man with these thoughts. Give me a break. Anyone voting for this man is not a true christian.
posted by dante805
***********************************************************So is what you are telling us is that Christians and evangelicals think it is a good thing for their 4 and 10 year old children to have babies?

[dnsallday]

McCain figures if he lies in Spanish nobody will notice. Maybe he would do better in the polls if he showed a little respect for people. There is nothing more disrespectful than lying to people and playing people for fools.

Errors en Espaqol
July 8, 2008
A Spanish-language McCain radio ad gets nearly all its facts wrong.
Summary
McCain''s new radio ad, in Spanish, aims to show Florida would benefit from the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which he supports. But every number in the ad is wrong, except one, a prediction of job gains taken from a group favoring the trade deal. And even that number is rounded upward so generously as to flunk third-grade arithmetic.
FACTCHECK.ORG

[dante805]

I''m sure Obama the great didn''t bring up his past remarks to the hispanics on abortion since they in general despise it and are conservative. Remember he said he would rather have his own daughters get an abortion than be PUNISHED with a baby, yes he said Punished. And he thinks true christians and evangelicals will vote for a man with these thoughts. Give me a break. Anyone voting for this man is not a true christian.

[obama8years]

Also, Obama%u2019s argument here makes no sense. He%u2019s complaining that Americans don%u2019t speak the native language when we visit Europe, but that we don%u2019t speak the immigrant language when people move to the United States. With that argument, shouldn%u2019t we expect Europeans to speak English when we travel there?


I agree that everyone should learn a foreign language. I spoke French for a while, and I know a little Spanish from growing up in Southern California, and I studied Irish for several years. The study of foreign language not only broadens one%u2019s cultural perspective, but it also helps in understanding one%u2019s native tongue. However, to argue that Americans should learn Spanish as a higher priority than insisting that immigrants learn English is nonsense, and Obama%u2019s argument for it is a giant non-sequitur. It carries a strong whiff of America-bashing, too.

[obama8years]

Barack Obama addressed the issue of official languages yesterday by endorsing one: Spanish. Instead of worrying about immigrants learning English, he told an audience, America should be teaching its children Spanish. Every child should be bilingual, Obama said,

[obama8years]

Interesting I didnt See anything about Obama pandering to the hispanics by telling them America should be speaking spanish, not the spanish learning English. Another Obamanation statement. Obama the Marxist.

[rowdywicca]

Obama plan is to lower middle class taxes by getting rid of BUSH tax cuts for the wealthies 1%, i.e. people making over $250K.

Posted by frootloop47 at 08:16 AM : Jul 09, 2008

Oh get real! Obama''''s ridiculous tax plan will never make it out of committee!!!

Gullible people! Those politicians are NOT going to tax the hand that contributes to their campaign funds!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by RowdyWicca at 09:08 AM : Jul 09, 2008

Obama already voted for Cheney''s energy bill that lets oil companies have free oil off feder lands.

Where the HELL do you think he got all his MONEY! Nice payback there, wasn''t it?

[rowdywicca]

Obama plan is to lower middle class taxes by getting rid of BUSH tax cuts for the wealthies 1%, i.e. people making over $250K.

Posted by frootloop47 at 08:16 AM : Jul 09, 2008

Oh get real! Obama''s ridiculous tax plan will never make it out of committee!!!

Gullible people! Those politicians are NOT going to tax the hand that contributes to their campaign funds!

[frootloop47]

ChrisL45 at 08:57 AM : Jul 09, 2008
Hilarious!

[chrisl45]

Here are a few more spiritual reasons why senator Obama would be bad for the country. John McCain is much smarter, believe me. Let''s all talk about senator Barack Obama''s name. The "O" in Obama is a hint of praise, "Barack" sounds like US barracks to me, "bam" sounds like bomb, and the last letter in his name "a" stands for America. If you put most of this together Barack''s name is saying to the American people ''praise the bombing of America''. Since, the 60s the anit-semites have spread like a disease. What makes things worst when you think about Barack''s name is Obama has worn muslim cloths, and attended an anti-semite church. Believe me, it''s just like someone walking around with an Adolph Hitler mustach an vomiting on the steps of the white house. How could senator Obama do this to the country. Doesn''t he look at what his name would mean to other people. Do you know how I discovered this. I saw the name "Barack" and "Obama" and though of the bombing of the US barracks in 1983 Beirut, and the bombing of the US barracks in the Gulf War by friendly fire. For example, his initials "BO" is like he''s saying if you vote for me you will be making the country stink with radiation. Barack''s latest attacks on John McCain can also be related to Barack''s name. Barack''s name is saying "baa" like a sheep saying "bad", "rack" pointing towards McCain''s torture by the Vietnames. "rack" is a term for being hung by ropes with your arms behind your back.

[frootloop47]

Obama, on the other hand, and his remark about how Americans should be embarressed for not speaking French when traveling to France is wrong..Posted by Ariel133 at 07:08 AM : Jul 09, 2008
-----------------------------------------
Show me THAT quote please

[frootloop47]

Said McCain: "If you believe you should pay more taxes, I am the wrong candidate for you. ... Jobs are the most important thing our economy creates."

What a lying sack of $hit.
Obama plan is to lower middle class taxes by getting rid of BUSH tax cuts for the wealthies 1%, i.e. people making over $250K.

Either McCorpse is purposely misrepresenting Obama''s tax plan or he''s freakin'' senile. Either way. I do NOT want this guy as President.

[ariel133]

McCain is absloutely right, we will leave with Honor, and the media may play the information card, but they really don''t know the inside details. Obama, on the other hand, and his remark about how Americans should be embarressed for not speaking French when traveling to France is wrong..Americans should be embarressed for not speaking English in America.

[oneworldusa]

I have a problem with both candidates wanting to allow illegals to remain. Why not just empty out all the prisons and jails and let all the criminals go free? Think of all the taxes saved if we did this.

[johnmcsame]

The reason voters will not elect Hussein:

1. They don''''''''t want a candidate that has been in a twenty year relationship with Reverend Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ.
2. They don%u2019t%u2019 want a candidate that has a twenty year relationship with Father Pflaeger as his compass in life
3. They don%u2019t want a candidate that went to a church that supports Louis Farrakhan, an anti Semitic racist.
4. They don''''''''t want to defend Black Liberation theology.
5. They don%u2019t want a candidate that lies about his relationship with Tony Rezko, the Syrian Criminal that sold his property to Obama and supported his campaign.
6. They don''''''''t want a candidate that could work with a domestic terrorist, William Ayers.
7. They don%u2019t want a candidate that Hamas supports.
8. They don%u2019t want a candidate that Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam support
9. They don%u2019t want a candidate that has a wife that has just now realized she was proud of our country.
10. They don%u2019t want a candidate that denies Florida and Michigan their voices