SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — President Barack Obama made the first appearance by a U.S. president in Puerto Rico since 1976, flying here Tuesday for a symbolic visit that may also help his 2012 re-election prospects.
“When I came here to campaign (in 2008), I promised I would return as president of the United States,” Obama said in a speech in the airport hanger at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, as a crowd of more than 1,000 cheered. “And although my hair is a little grayer than during my first visit, I am glad to be able to keep that promise to the people of Puerto Rico.”
Standing in front of a group of American and Puerto Rican flags, Obama emphasized the ties of the U.S. commonwealth to the rest of the country, telling the crowd that “every day Puerto Ricans contribute” to the United States. He specifically noted people from the island serving in Afghanistan, as well as J.J. Barea, a basketball player with the Dallas Mavericks, who won the NBA championship this week. “That guy can play,” the president said.
He also tied the island to the nation’s challenges, saying his administration wanted to improve its economy, health and education.
“We are going to put people back to work in Puerto Rico and all across America,” Obama said.
The president was to visit La Fortaleza, the governor’s mansion, and a campaign fundraiser.
The five hours Obama was to spend in Puerto Rico is more attention than the island has received from a U.S. president in decades. Lyndon B. Johnson and Gerald Ford came to the island while in office, but Obama will be the first president at La Fortaleza since John F. Kennedy.
While Obama cast his trip as keeping a pledge to visit the island that he made in 2008, when he unsuccessfully campaigned here during the Democratic primaries, the visit had obvious political overtones. While Puerto Ricans who live on the island can’t vote, those who have moved to one of the 50 states can.
Both parties view the more than 4.6 million Puerto Ricans as an important voting bloc, particularly in Florida, a key swing state for Obama’s 2012 campaign.
“The large and growing Puerto Rican population in central Florida will be key to winning the state in 2012,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of Democratic-leaning consultants NDN.
The island’s status is divisive here: Many want to stay a commonwealth; others would like to become a U.S. state; another small bloc prefers complete independence. Following a pattern of past presidents, Obama has not taken an official position on the issue, instead calling for Puerto Rico to hold a plebiscite to resolve its status.
