The amigo vote

The candidates are off to the races, competing for their fringe votes now. The solid, convention-bound party regulars are all tucked in to bed so let’s change the message and go after the undecided.

Using Monty Hall tactics, John McCain rushes over to the Latino voters. He holds a closed-door meeting with Hispanics in Chicago.

(Now, there is no such thing as “closed-door” for a presidential candidate. Was McCain thinking he could cut a deal with Latinos and keep it a secret from heartland voters? If so, he’s not fit for the office.)

McCain told the 150 invited Latino activists exactly what they wanted to hear: "I was proud to work for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and if I am elected President I assure you that in 2009 I will ask Congress to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform."

And he threw in the guest worker program to boot.

He also described Mexico as our “dearest friend”. By the way, he went to Mexico on July 1-3 and did a photo op with Jeb Bush and got a blessing from the Monsignor himself in the Catholic Church in Mexico City.

And he snuck in a visit with Columbia’s President Uribe.

And McCain has come out in support of NAFTA and a Columbian version. Heck, why not a NAFTA for ALL of the Western Hemisphere? McCain is all for it.

He is proving himself to be a true George Bush conservative.

But Obama has his eye on the same demographic.

From what I can see, the Hispanics have moved back to the Left. We have returned to the voting patterns of 1996. Cubans will vote Republican. The rest will side with the Democrats. The only question is whether or not Hispanics will vote this time. Lots of money is flowing into the campaign to get Latinos to vote in November.

Even State Farm Insurance kicked in $1 MILLION for a Spanish-language ad campaign to stimulate voting. (I don’t call that being a “good neighbor”.)

McCain is wasting his time. He’d do better going after the blue collar worker and the intellectual independent.