ORLANDO, Fla. — Like eager but awkward suitors, Barack Obama and John McCain are working hard and sometimes fumbling in their efforts to court Latino voters.
For the African-American Obama and white McCain, the problem is less one of language than of trying to understand a group whose diversity can make it a mystery to others.
“They just come to me and say, ‘Who are the bosses of the Latin community?’ ” said Patrick Manteiga, who runs a family-owned newspaper for Latinos in Tampa’s historic Cuban neighborhood of Ybor City. “That’s like coming and asking, ‘Who are the bosses of white America, of the soccer moms?’ ”
Both candidates are pressing their cases in three speeches in as many weeks to Latino umbrella groups. Republicans have opened an office in Orlando, where most of Florida’s Puer to Ricans live. Obama opens one this week in Ybor City.
They’ve both got their work cut out for them in appealing to a large and growing segment of the population that has leaned Democratic but has not always been motivated to vote. An AP-Yahoo News poll found Obama led McCain 47 percent to 22 percent among Latinos, with 26 percent undecided.
McCain is respected by many Latinos for refusing to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment. And he is popular among Cuban-Americans in Miami, who admire his support for U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Yet he is viewed by some as a sequel to the unpopular President Bush, a problem he has with voters at large, too.
Obama’s vitality and soaring oratory appeal to Latinos just as they do to others.
Yet he emerged from the Democratic primaries a distant second to Hillary Rodham Clinton among most Latino groups. Like voters at large, Latinos question his experience. And there are tensions between blacks and Latinos.
Voters’ reactions vary
These voters are hardly monolithic.
Some in the West have roots there going back more than two centuries, while others were sworn in as citizens last week. Some consider themselves white and some black, and many represent every shade in between.
In the 2004 presidential election, Latinos in such key swing states as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida were from 8 percent to more than 30 percent of voters, according to exit polls, and their numbers are expected to grow this year.
Fernando Romero, a former casino executive in Las Vegas who advised former Democratic candidate Bill Richardson, says he’s now backing McCain.
“Unfortunately, (Obama) is the one that we know nothing about and has made little effort to communicate with us,” he said. “There are so many good qualities that Sen. McCain has — and proven qualities.”
Jesus Mendoza, 51, a Tampa barbershop owner, explained his change of heart to Obama.
“I’m a true Republican,” said the Puerto Rican native. “I believe people should work hard and get less help. But the Republicans have been in power for eight years, and I don’t think things are better. Obama, he’s a young candidate, but he’s intelligent. Even though I’m a Republican, I’m not blind.”
Clara Apodaca, 73, of Las Cruces, N.M., is among the Clinton supporters who shifted to Obama. She was hoping to see a woman win, but she now believes Obama would be the best candidate to handle the economy, the war and the country’s reputation.
“We’re so badly thought of throughout the world,” she said.
But 64-year-old Denver resident Paul Sandoval, another Clinton supporter, has yet to make up his mind.
“Obama has not sold me that he’s the best candidate, regardless if he’s a Democrat,” the Mexican restaurant owner said as he served up eggs for a recent morning crowd. “I’m going to wait. I’m going to see how they perform on that stage, answering those hard questions.”
