John Nichols: Obama Strikes Right Notes at LULAC

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Obama Strikes Right Notes at LULAC
posted by John Nichols on 07/09/2008 @ 4:58pm


Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama struck the right themes when he spoke Wednesday to the League of United Latin American Citizens convention in Washington.

Referencing past struggles and addressing concerns about whether he would embrace the causes and concerns of Hispanic voters, who overwhelmingly backed New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primaries this year, Obama delivered a speech that connected with an audience that also heard from Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

After being introduced by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was a strong Clinton backer during the nomination race, Obama said:

Thank you, Mayor. And thank you for what you do every day as one of America's finest mayors. At heart, what Mayor Villaraigosa is doing today is the same thing he was doing as a fifteen year old when he volunteered to take part in a grape boycott led by Cesar Chavez -- he's fighting to make this country more equal and just. And he is a shining example of what we can achieve when we build a government that reflects the diversity of the United States of America.

That's something I want to talk about because I'm told that today's theme is "diversity in government." So I've been thinking about why that's important and about what it means to have a government that represents all Americans. It's not just about making sure that men and women of every race, religion, and background are represented at every level of government -- though that's a critical part of it. It's not just about sending a message to our children that everyone can lead and everyone can serve -- although that too is important. It's about making sure that we have a government that knows that a problem facing any American is a problem facing all Americans.

It's about making sure our government knows that when there's a Hispanic girl stuck in a crumbling school who graduates without learning to read or doesn't graduate at all, that isn't just a Hispanic-American problem, that's an American problem.

When Hispanics lose their jobs faster than almost anybody else, or work jobs that pay less, and come with fewer benefits than almost anybody else, that isn't a Hispanic-American problem, that's an American problem.

When 12 million people live in hiding in this country and hundreds of thousands of people cross our borders illegally each year; when companies hire undocumented workers instead of legal citizens to avoid paying overtime or to avoid a union; and a nursing mother is torn away from her baby by an immigration raid, that is a problem that all of us -- black, white, and brown -- must solve as one nation.

A government that works for all Americans -- that's the kind of government I'm talking about. And that's the kind of government I've been fighting to build throughout my over 20 years in public service.

That was the right message.

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http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/335727