Poor Bill, if only he had Cameron Diaz's surname! This is why I say Obama needs either an ethnic or Hispanic strategy, and I think he is probably smart enough that he does have one--as soon as he gets rid of the Clintons. However, by his very nature, he has upset the status quo of the Demoncrats. They are getting ready to absorb him into their bourgeois collective. The question is, will he see it as a loser strategy and do something really different with his one chance at the presidency and this election? If he loses, whatever strategy he chooses will always be second guessed. So chances are he will throw in with the Demoncrat consensus. If I were a betting man, that would give slightly better than even odds to win (because McCain thus far has failed to raise much money, because national security state types are showing up on the side of the Demoncrats too, not just the Repugs, and because the Repug in not an entrenched incumbent). OTOH, it all seems dicey precisely because of the racism, because of a lack so far of Hispanic support to Obama (or am I being misled by the media--afterall, he won Nevada, right?), and because the Demoncrats lose close elections because of the conservative/Repug/rural/southern/western biases built into the electoral system (and Senate too). They need a blow out. For a blow out strategy, Obama will have to lead. He will have to step outside the Demoncrat party that has rewarded him so far.
http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/61293.html key quote: >>More than half of Latino voters in 23 states said no Latino was running for president. Only a quarter recognized Richardson as a Hispanic in the race.>> >>2008 Presidential election: Richardson races to gain Hispanic recognition Related News---New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Democratic candidate for president, holds a forum with the Culinary Union at union headquarters Tuesday May 1,2007. Also on the Web More Richardson video resources The Richardson File Advertisement By Barbara Ferry | The New Mexican Sat May 5, 2007 10:31 pm Poll shows majority of Latinos unaware of governor's heritage If Bill Richardson's mother had been an American banker and his father had been the son of a prominent Mexico City clan, things might be different. As it is, the native Spanish-speaking presidential candidate with an Anglo last name faces a challenge convincing Hispanic voters that he, too, is Hispanic. ``For all the Latinos here, I want you to know that I'm Latino,'' Richardson said in Spanish at a recent campaign stop in California, according to a report by New American Media, a coalition of ethnic media outlets. ``I can't convince people with this last name.'' Richardson has repeated that he's running not as a Hispanic candidate but as a ``mainstream candidate'' who is proud of his heritage. He's also repeated that he's running on his resume and not as ``a rock star'' like Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But in the Hispanic press, Richardson has celebrity status. At campaign stops in Texas, Spanish outlets arrived en masse. He's been featured heavily on media such as Telemundo, which asked in one segment whether America was ready for ``a Mexican'' in the White House. In Los Angeles, he made history by giving a half-hour radio interview in Spanish to popular radio host Eddie ``El Piolin'' Sotelo. Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas greeted him with a kiss at a convention of Hispanic journalists and wrote a boosterish column about him, ``El Presidente Richardson,'' on her Web site. In New York, Spanish radio station owners hosted a fundraiser for him. America Rodriguez, a professor of radio and television at the University of Texas at Austin, said Richardson's heritage and fluency in Spanish boosts him out of third-tier status for her and other Latinos. ``When it gets around to election time, we usually hear these candidates speaking this horrible Spanish,'' said Rodriguez, author of the book Making Latino News. ``For Latinos to be hearing someone who speaks our language correctly is very exciting.'' ``That's what makes him interesting to me,'' said Rodriguez, who is Cuban American. ``Otherwise, he's just another mainstream Democrat.'' Despite the Spanish media's excitement over having a candidate who can handle more than ``si se puede'' and other tired slogans, Richardson has an uphill battle ahead of him with Latino voters, according to one recent national poll. More than half of Latino voters in 23 states said no Latino was running for president. Only a quarter recognized Richardson as a Hispanic in the race. >> _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis