U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama worked Saturday to gain the support of Latino voters, who may play a key
role in the outcome of the November election. VOA's Kent Klein reports
from Washington.
Democratic Senator Barack Obama greeted some
700 Hispanic leaders with the Spanish-language rallying cry, "Si se
puede," or "Yes we can." Obama and Republican Senator John McCain both
spoke Saturday at a conference of the National Association of Latino
Elected and Appointed Officials, in Washington.
Latinos are
America's fastest-growing ethnic minority, and the nation's
fastest-growing group of voters. The association to which the
candidates spoke predicts a record turnout of more than nine million
Hispanic voters in November.
U.S. immigration policy is one
issue on many of those voters' minds, and both senators addressed the
issue. Obama called it a top priority.
"We need immigration reform
that will secure our borders and punish employers who exploit immigrant
labor. But we also need reform that finally brings the 12 million
people who are here illegally out of the shadows, requiring them to
take steps to become legal citizens, putting them on a pathway to
citizenship. That has to be one of our priorities as well," he said.
McCain,
whose home state, Arizona, contains much of the U.S. border with
Mexico, also called immigration reform his top priority. He talked
about his two failed attempts in the Senate to reform immigration laws,
and assured the group that he would address the issue "in a humane and
compassionate fashion."
"We can and will secure our borders first,
while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents
of the United States," he said.
Both candidates were received warmly, but McCain was interrupted four times by hecklers.
Both
McCain and Obama spoke about their proposals to reduce U.S.
independence on oil from overseas. McCain said his plan would be the
largest of its kind in U.S. history.
"We have got to proceed with
confidence and trust of the American people towards achieving
independence of foreign oil, a short gas tax holiday for Americans who
are paying more and more at the gas pump, exploration of offshore oil
if the states agree - oil and natural gas deposits - adoption of
alternate fuels, hydrogen hybrids, electric cars," he said.
Obama
also talked about fostering energy independence.
"Gas prices are
killing folks, but the only way we are going to bring gas prices down
long-term is to invest in renewable energies - solar, wind,
biodiesel - new technology for automobiles," he said.
New Mexico
state Governor Bill Richardson, a former U.S. energy secretary and a
Latino himself, used Saturday's Democratic Party radio address to
promote Obama's energy proposals and criticize McCain's.
"Senator
McCain's gimmicks - a gas tax holiday that will save consumers, at most,
30 cents a day for three months, and offering a prize for inventing a
car battery - are not answers. As a former secretary of energy, I know
they will not work," he said.
Richardson has advised Obama to
campaign heavily in four states, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Florida, where the Latino vote could affect the
outcome of the election.
A Gallup public opinion poll in May indicated that 62 percent of
Hispanics supported Obama, to 29 percent for McCain. But in the
Democratic primaries, Latinos heavily favored Senator Hillary Clinton
over Obama. And McCain won 70 percent of Arizona's Latino vote in his
last Senate campaign.
Obama plans to speak to two other major Hispanic groups in July.
