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DID OBAMA AND ROMNEY BOTH COME OUT AS WINNERS AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTED OFFICIALS CONFERENCE?

June 23, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 1 Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

A high-profile gathering of Latino public officials turned out to be a win-win for President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, according to interviews with those who attended. Democrats did not take Obama to task for waiting so long to stop deportations of young illegal immigrants, and Republicans expressed relief at Romney’s presence and softer tone.

“I think people are ready to give both of them, really both of them some pass,” said Ron Garcia, a Republican from Southern California and a member of the board of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. “There’s some time now to digest what the two candidates have to offer.”

photo source: CBS News

The fast-growing Latino community is a pivotal voting bloc in several battleground states, including Florida, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia, North Carolina and Arizona. Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote in 2008 and is doing even better than that in some polls this year. Analysts estimate that Romney needs to win as much as 40 percent of the Latino vote to win the White House, a goal he is not reaching in several states and one made harder by the tough immigration rhetoric he and other Republican candidates employed during the primaries.

Watch President Obama’s remarks at NALEO.

Obama’s standing with Latinos was reflected in the enthusiastic cheers and multiple standing ovations he received at NALEO. Better yet for him: the only subject that came close to generating as much fervor as his new policy on undocumented youth was his mention of the Affordable Care Act, a toxic subject in much of the country.

President Barack Obama greets supporters at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference, Friday, June 22, 2012, at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. President Obama was scheduled to address the crowd later in the day. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

“I was very moved by it,” said Mary Rose Wilcox, a Maricopa County supervisor from Phoenix, Ariz. “I saw a toughness that I had not seen the last time he came to NALEO and I like that a lot, because he has done so much — in terms of not only what he did with the executive decision (on young immigrants) but also with the economy.”

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, holds a baby as he greets attendees at the NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials) conference in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

While Obama had a natural advantage at the conference, Romney benefited from offering his own ideas for immigration reform in front of a polite audience. His proposals, aimed in part at keeping families together and highly educated foreign students in the United States, allowed him to move away from his much-scorned “self-deportation” language and reintroduce himself as a general-election nominee sympathetic to the concerns of Latino voters.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, holds a baby as he greets attendees at the NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials) conference in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

“I was a little upset with him over some of the harshness with respect to immigration in the past, but what he said today was something I find appealing,” said Juan Zapata, a self-described moderate Republican who chairs the NALEO Education fund. “Softening that rhetoric with regards to immigration will definitely go a long way towards helping Republicans.”

Watch Romney’s remarks in the video (skip to 4:30).

If Romney’s speech was part of the learning process of how to speak to Hispanic voters, “he’s on the right track,” said Longwood, Fla., city councilman Bob Cortes, who is a Republican.

Key to the satisfaction of several Republicans at the conference was a sense that Romney did not outright reject the ideas behind the DREAM Act, legislation that would create a path to citizenship to people brought to the United States illegally as children, if they pursue a college education or military service.

Activists from the Student Immigrant Movement march in support of the DREAM Act. | AP Photo

However, several Democrats — including Obama — pointed to Romney’s emphatic opposition to the DREAM Act during the primary campaign. Many called Romney’s ideas vague and accused him of deliberately avoiding saying whether he would overturn Obama’s new policy of letting young undocumented immigrants apply for temporary deportation reprieves and work permits (Romney said in his speech he would propose comprehensive reform that would “supersede” Obama’s order).

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks at the NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials) conference in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (AP2012)

Many gave Romney credit for appearing at the conference even with the knowledge that the crowd would be largely comprised of Democrats supportive of Obama. “I think he basically showed them that he did care one way or another, he did believe in the Latino vote and that he did believe that immigration is an issue,” said Republican political consultant Esteban Ferreiro. “I think he did what he needed to do within his beliefs.”

Even Democrats like Utah State Senate minority leader Ross Romero said Romney’s intentions seemed sincere, even if his policy proposals were too general. “The fact that he spent 20 minutes, 30 minutes walking the rope line after his speech said to me that he knew he had work to do, he knew that he needed to make those one-on-one connections, and the fact that we were respectful when he was speaking lent for that opportunity,” Romero said.

FORMER COMMERCE SECRETARY CARLOS GUTIERREZ LEADS THE REPUBLICAN HISPANIC DREAM TEAM: “JUNTOS CON ROMNEY”

June 11, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 2 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez leads the Hispanic Dream Team “Juntos con Romney” along with former Attorney General of Puerto Rico José Fuentes and former Administrator of the Small Business Administration Hector Barreto, Fox News Latino reported.

Despite the current 2-1 hold President Obama has on the Hispanic vote, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney hopes to persuade some of those voters to rally behind him by emphasizing his position on the economy.

Jae C. Hong/AP

While Romney’s earlier position immigration distanced him from many Hispanic voters, the May jobs report, which placed unemployment among Hispanic Americans at 11 percent last month, up from 10.3 percent in April and highest level yet in 2012 the National Journal reported, could make Hispanic voters give Romney another look.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gestures during a campaign stop at Southwest Office Systems, Tuesday, June 5, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Recently, at a Hispanic-owned business in Texas, Romney attacked the “Obama economy,” saying that under the current president, the economy has been “particularly hard on Hispanic businesses and Hispanic Americans.” Romney went on to call the president “anti-small business” and “hostile” to the small businesses environment which has made it harder for businesses to hire more people, the Washington Post reported.

The Romney campaign asserted a similar message on its YouTube Channel and released, “Fine.” The video, which presented President Obama as out-of-touch with the job market, criticized him for his recent assertion that “the economy is doing fine.”

Keeping to that message, the channel also released a video in Spanish entitled “Deprimente” or “Dismal” which shows a supporter of President Obama asserting that the country is on the right path and then contrasts that with the current economic statistics for Hispanic Americans.

Still, despite these efforts, a new Latino Decisions national poll reveals President Obama has a 43-point margin over Romney among Latino voters.

One reason for the vast gap could be that President Obama is currently outspending Romney significantly in Spanish-language media. While the president has already invested $1 million over the last five weeks, to emphasize the president’s health care and education reforms, Romney has spent about $13,000 on Spanish-language media since he became the unofficial official republican nominee, the National Journal reported.

Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez File photo by Leslie Smith Jr., USA TODAY

However, those numbers could change. Romney recently created a committee entitled “Juntos con Romney,” or “Together with Romney,” led by former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, former Attorney General of Puerto Rico José Fuentes and former Administrator of the Small Business Administration Hector Barreto, Fox News Latino reported.

“The Hispanic community has been especially hard-hit by President Obama’s policies,” said Gutierrez in a press release. “Instead of spurring economic growth and creating jobs, President Obama has only expanded government and hurt job creation. We need a leader who will bring back jobs, help small businesses, and ensure that the American Dream remains for future generations.”

Mitt Romney addressed the Latino Coalition summit at the US Chamber of Commerce… (Mario Tama/Getty Images )

Romney’s advisors are also trying to get him to soften his earlier rhetoric on immigration, Boston.com reported. Currently Romney is “studying” a modified version of the Dream Act, proposed by Romney’s potential pick for Vice President Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl) which would grant non-immigrant visas to young people here illegally if they go to college or serve in the military, ABC News reported.

The Dream Act was killed by a narrow margin (55-41) in the Senate when Democrats failed to break a filibuster in the Senate. The Dream Act with a broad bipartison support was to provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who came to the United States as a child upon completing specific requirements. The failure to pass the Dream Act was heart breaking for millions of immigrants who had thought 2010 would have been the year where American would embrace the hard working immigrant communities across the country.

Whether or not Romney’s outreach will make an impact will soon be put to the test. Romney wil speak June 21 before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the day before President Obama addresses the group. The speech could provide a clear contrast between the two candidates on a variety of issues, Boston.com reported, which might sway more voters to say sí se puede or juntos con Romney.

WHICH EIGHT STATES WILL SHAPE THE 2012 ELECTION

May 29, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PBS SPECIAL

JUDY WOODRUFF: Christina, what does it look like, 50/50?

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Yeah, absolutely.

You’ve got — first of all, you’re going to see dozens and dozens of polls over the next five months. And some of them are going to be a little bit more important than others. But one of the things that you’re seeing nationally is that, since it’s been clear that Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican nominee here, he’s starting to inch up a little bit on the president in national perspective.

But in the battleground states, where the president’s team has really invested a lot of money in their ground game, their campaign infrastructure, hiring a lot of people and registering voters, you’re seeing it a little bit stronger for the president in some of them and then Romney having a little bit of ground to make up in both.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, speaking of those battlegrounds states, if you look at a map of the United States — and we just happen to have our Vote 2012 Map Center right here to show everybody — you see those states in blue that are considered either solidly or leaning Democratic. In red, we’re showing the states that are solidly or leaning Republican, and then yellow, eight states that are tossups.

So, Stu, let’s talk about those. And let’s start on the East Coast and work our way west with Florida, which keeps everybody guessing, at least at this stage of the campaign. What does Florida look like?

photo source: Flickr

STUART ROTHENBERG: Right, certainly as it did in 2000.

Well, there’s a recent NBC News/Marist poll that has the president up by four points, 48 to 44. That’s among registered voters. If you look historically at Florida, Judy it performs more Republican than the country as a whole. That is a few points more Republican. So, although President Obama won it last time, he didn’t win it by anything close to the over seven points he won nationally.

I think you have to look at Florida in a number of ways. Hispanics are an important constituency, senior citizens, of course. But really Florida is three states in one. North Florida performs the way the South does. It’s conservative. South Florida, particularly the Gold Coast, the Miami-Broward portion of the state, is more like New Jersey. So Florida is going to be determined probably by swing voters in the I-4 Corridor, that central part of the belt stretching from Orlando all the way over to Tampa-St. Pete.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Which we hear about in every election.

So, let’s move up a little bit north there to Virginia.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Right. Virginia is the battleground of all battlegrounds. Of course, it did not vote Democratic — it voted Democratic in 2008, but it hadn’t since 1964. This was a big win for Barack Obama in 2008.

And they did that in part by targeting a lot of the expanding suburbs in the Washington area in Northern Virginia and also looking at this military region, Hampton Roads, and also targeting younger voters and the changing demographics of Virginia.

So, this is something — you’re going to see this, both campaigns put a lot of energy and resources there. It’s very easy for the president to cross over into Virginia and campaign here. You saw him hold one of his first reelection rallies in Richmond.

And you’re going to see a lot more there. And Mitt Romney has made very clear he’s going to contest here. When you look at where these campaigns are advertising, Virginia is almost always on the list for the campaigns and the super PACs that are backing them.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So long, as you say, a state the Republicans could almost take for granted, but not anymore.

So, Stu, let’s turn to the Midwest, and quickly look at three states there, starting with Ohio.

STUART ROTHENBERG: So there’s a recent NBC News/Marist poll that shows the president up by five points, though only in the mid-40s, against Mitt Romney. Ohio went for Bush in 2000 and 2004.

It then went for President Obama, not the way it did it nationally. Nationally, the president won by seven. In Ohio, it was about 4.5 points. I think one of the interesting things about Ohio is the economic recovery. The automobile industry and the overall sense that the economy is coming back, will that help the president enough to help him carry a state that, all things being equal — and they are never equal, Judy — but all things being equal, the Republicans have a slight advantage in.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Okay, and near and still in the Midwest, Christina, Iowa.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Iowa, this is a really interesting state because it has swung for both parties over the presidential years.

And, obviously, it’s very near and dear to President Obama’s heart because it is where he was able to sort of start his path to the Democratic nomination in 2008 by winning the caucuses. He put a lot of investment in getting the young college voters in that state to get engaged for him. He has campaigned there many times.

He has sent the vice president there many times. But it’s also an interesting state because the economy is a little bit better in Iowa than it is in other parts of the country. And you’re also seeing a pretty strong Republican effort in some of the down-ballot races. So, you have got some competitive congressional races. You’re seeing a lot of advertising at that level.

So, this is not a state that the Obama campaign can take for granted this year.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Stu, quickly to Wisconsin, which is a state that all — that also has a very closely watched governor recall.

STUART ROTHENBERG: Right. Right.

And the state is very polarized. The recall shows the race close, as Gov. Scott Walker facing a recall against Tom Barrett. Fascinating state, Judy. In 2000 and 2004, this state went Democratic by each time less than one-half of 1 percent. And yet in 2008, it blew open. The president won it by almost 14 percentage points.

The question is, now, is it going to come back? Some of these Upper Midwest states like good government candidates who talk about bringing the country together. I think the thing to watch here is white working-class voters and to what extent are they dissatisfied with the economy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, we’re going to touch just very briefly now on these last few states we want to talk about.

Christina, in New Hampshire, it’s only four electoral votes, but in a close race, that could matter.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Especially when you have got Mitt Romney, who was the governor of Massachusetts. He owns property in New Hampshire. He has spent a lot of time there. He’s beloved by a lot of these residents and it really has got this independent streak. It backed President Obama in 2008, but they do like to make a little bit of a switch here.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Stu, moving out west, Colorado?

STUART ROTHENBERG: I would say the two keys here are Hispanics and suburban voters. This is the West, but it’s not the West like Wyoming or Arizona or Montana.

There are a whole bunch of suburban voters here around the Denver area that probably will decide this election and again the Hispanic turnout.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Christina, the last of these swing states we’re looking at is Nevada.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Yes. And the Hispanic turnout is very, very important in this race.

And you have also got the president was able to activate a very strong Democratic base in that state in 2008. He helped Senator — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid win reelection in 2010 with that. And that’s what he’s trying to do now. And we have noticed these campaigns are not advertising there, in part because the president is standing strong.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So let’s finally look at the map again and talk just quickly about what the president and what Gov. Romney have to do to get to that 270, which is what they need. Several paths, Stu, for the president, but maybe only a few for Gov. Romney.

STUART ROTHENBERG: That’s true. Romney must win Ohio and Florida.

And then I think the key is going to come down to Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado. I think Virginia is going to be a crucial state, Judy. And I don’t say that just because we’re located in Virginia at the moment. You know, when you do the math, if the Republicans win the states that they have in the past, if Romney wins them, it’s going to come down to a handful of states.

The president has a lot more opportunities. If he can pick off Ohio, for example, he makes it impossible for Mitt Romney to win.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Quick last word.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: And you can take a look on our Map Center. Basically, if the president is able to win all of these states, he wins reelection fairly easily. But if Mitt Romney is able to pick off just a few — he’s going to need a lot more than that. He’s basically going to run the table with some of these states to be able to make this happen.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And when our — I should just say that our viewers can go online to our Web site, look at this map. You can play with it. You can see what it means when different states go Romney or Obama. You can see the different paths and make it turn out any way you want. Is that right?

STUART ROTHENBERG: Yes, sure.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Unlike in November, when it really counts.

STUART ROTHENBERG: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

JUDY WOODRUFF: Christina Bellantoni, Stu Rothenberg, thank you both.

STUART ROTHENBERG: Thanks, Judy.

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Filed Under: FEATURED POLITICS, LATINO POLITICS Tagged With: Barack Obama, Florida, JUDY, Mitt Romney, PBS NewsHour, Republican, United States, Virginia

OBAMA SAYS “NO” IS NOT AN OPTION FOR THE DREAM ACT: THE DREAM OF OPPORTUNITY IS STILL ALIVE IN OUR TIME

May 4, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

(AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama greets guests during a Cinco de Mayo reception in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 3, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Battle of Puebla between Mexico and France in 1862.
(May 2, 2012 – Source: Pool/Getty Images North America)

THE DREAM OF OPPORTUNITY IS STILL ALIVE IN OUR TIME – LOOKING BACK AT MAY 4, 2009

“While geography has made us neighbors, tradition has made us friends, economics has made us partners and necessity has made us allies, two great and independent nations united by hope instead of fear. Visiting Mexico, I was greeted by children on both our nations waving flags. A powerful reminder that everything we do is to secure a better future for our children and for our grandchildren. And while I was there, I found it impossible not to be touched by the warmth and vigor and the forceful vitality of the Mexican people. The love of life I’ve seen in Mexican American communities throughout this nation, and that’s what we’ll celebrate tomorrow, that’s what we’ll celebrate tonight, and that’s what we’ll celebrate in the future. Feliz Cinco de Mayo.” -President Obama

President Obama told a largely Hispanic audience today that he is ready to sign the DREAM Act and blamed Republicans for the failure of the legislation that would grant illegal immigrant students a path to citizenship.

photo source: AP

“We’re going to keep fighting for this common-sense reform — not just because hundreds of thousands of talented young students depend on it, but because ultimately America depends on it,” the president said at the annual Cinco de Mayo reception at the White House. “‘No’ is not an option. I want to sign the DREAM Act into law. I’ve got the pens all ready. I’m willing to work with anybody who is serious to get this done, and to achieve bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform that solves this challenge once and for all.”

Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Georgetown perform at a Cinco de Mayo reception at the White House in Washington, May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
Read more: IB Times

Today’s election-year celebration comes as the president courts Latino voters in the run-up to November.

(AFP OUT) Guests take pictures during a Cinco de Mayo reception in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2012.. Photo by Olivier Douliery/ABACAUSA.com
(May 2, 2012 – Source: Pool/Getty Images North America)

“We know that securing our future depends on making sure that all Americans have the opportunity to reach their potential. And that’s why we’ve worked hard over the last three and a half years to create jobs; to make sure you get the care you need when you get sick; to make college affordable for everybody; to ensure that no matter where you are, where you come from, what you look like, what your last name is — even if it’s Obama– you can make it if you try,” the president said to applause.

(AFP OUT) The Ballet Folklorico Mexicano performs during a Cinco de Mayo reception in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 3, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Battle of Puebla between Mexico and France in 1862.
(May 2, 2012 – Source: Pool/Getty Images North America)

In his brief remarks, Obama welcomed everyone to celebrate the “tres de Mayo” at this year’s party. The president will spend the real Cinco de Mayo this Saturday campaigning in Ohio and Virginia. “We just like to get the fiesta started early around here,” he joked. This year’s “fiesta” included dance performances by Georgetown University’s Ballet Folklórico and traditional Mexican music. Guests mingled in the Rose Garden, sipping champagne and, of course, margaritas.

DID OBAMA AND ROMNEY BOTH COME OUT AS WINNERS AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTED OFFICIALS CONFERENCE?

Watch Romney’s remarks in the video (skip to 4:30).

If Romney’s speech was part of the learning process of how to speak to Hispanic voters, “he’s on the right track,” said Longwood, Fla., city councilman Bob Cortes, who is a Republican.

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FORMER COMMERCE SECRETARY CARLOS GUTIERREZ LEADS THE REPUBLICAN HISPANIC DREAM TEAM: “JUNTOS CON ROMNEY”

Despite the current 2-1 hold President Obama has on the Hispanic vote, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney hopes to persuade some of those voters to rally behind him by emphasizing his position on the economy.

The Romney campaign asserted a similar message on its YouTube Channel and released, “Fine.” The video, which presented President Obama as out-of-touch with the job market, criticized him for his recent assertion that “the economy is doing fine.”

Keeping to that message, the channel also released a video in Spanish entitled “Deprimente” or “Dismal” which shows a supporter of President Obama asserting that the country is on the right path and then contrasts that with the current economic statistics for Hispanic Americans.

Still, despite these efforts, a new Latino Decisions national poll reveals President Obama has a 43-point margin over Romney among Latino voters.

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WHICH EIGHT STATES WILL SHAPE THE 2012 ELECTION

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PBS SPECIAL

JUDY WOODRUFF: Christina, what does it look like, 50/50?

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Yeah, absolutely.

So, Stu, let’s talk about those. And let’s start on the East Coast and work our way west with Florida, which keeps everybody guessing, at least at this stage of the campaign. What does Florida look like?

STUART ROTHENBERG: Right, certainly as it did in 2000.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Which we hear about in every election.

So, let’s move up a little bit north there to Virginia.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Right. Virginia is the battleground of all battlegrounds. Of course, it did not vote Democratic — it voted Democratic in 2008, but it hadn’t since 1964. This was a big win for Barack Obama in 2008.

And they did that in part by targeting a lot of the expanding suburbs in the Washington area in Northern Virginia and also looking at this military region, Hampton Roads, and also targeting younger voters and the changing demographics of Virginia.

So, this is something — you’re going to see this, both campaigns put a lot of energy and resources there. It’s very easy for the president to cross over into Virginia and campaign here. You saw him hold one of his first reelection rallies in Richmond.

And you’re going to see a lot more there. And Mitt Romney has made very clear he’s going to contest here. When you look at where these campaigns are advertising, Virginia is almost always on the list for the campaigns and the super PACs that are backing them.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So long, as you say, a state the Republicans could almost take for granted, but not anymore.

So, Stu, let’s turn to the Midwest, and quickly look at three states there, starting with Ohio.

STUART ROTHENBERG: So there’s a recent NBC News/Marist poll that shows the president up by five points, though only in the mid-40s, against Mitt Romney. Ohio went for Bush in 2000 and 2004.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Okay, and near and still in the Midwest, Christina, Iowa.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Iowa, this is a really interesting state because it has swung for both parties over the presidential years.

So, this is not a state that the Obama campaign can take for granted this year.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Stu, quickly to Wisconsin, which is a state that all — that also has a very closely watched governor recall.

STUART ROTHENBERG: Right. Right.

The question is, now, is it going to come back? Some of these Upper Midwest states like good government candidates who talk about bringing the country together. I think the thing to watch here is white working-class voters and to what extent are they dissatisfied with the economy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, we’re going to touch just very briefly now on these last few states we want to talk about.

Christina, in New Hampshire, it’s only four electoral votes, but in a close race, that could matter.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Stu, moving out west, Colorado?

STUART ROTHENBERG: I would say the two keys here are Hispanics and suburban voters. This is the West, but it’s not the West like Wyoming or Arizona or Montana.

There are a whole bunch of suburban voters here around the Denver area that probably will decide this election and again the Hispanic turnout.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Christina, the last of these swing states we’re looking at is Nevada.

CHRISTINA BELLANTONI: Yes. And the Hispanic turnout is very, very important in this race.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So let’s finally look at the map again and talk just quickly about what the president and what Gov. Romney have to do to get to that 270, which is what they need. Several paths, Stu, for the president, but maybe only a few for Gov. Romney.

STUART ROTHENBERG: That’s true. Romney must win Ohio and Florida.

The president has a lot more opportunities. If he can pick off Ohio, for example, he makes it impossible for Mitt Romney to win.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Quick last word.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And when our — I should just say that our viewers can go online to our Web site, look at this map. You can play with it. You can see what it means when different states go Romney or Obama. You can see the different paths and make it turn out any way you want. Is that right?

STUART ROTHENBERG: Yes, sure.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Unlike in November, when it really counts.

STUART ROTHENBERG: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

JUDY WOODRUFF: Christina Bellantoni, Stu Rothenberg, thank you both.

STUART ROTHENBERG: Thanks, Judy.

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TOP 9 LINGERING QUESTIONS ON THE POLITICAL IMPACT OF GAY MARRIAGE

WILL GAY MARRIAGE HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE LATINO VOTE?

President Obama made history at the White House yesterday when he told my GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts that he supports same-sex marriage. But how will the politics play out come November? That’s the question we’re tackling today on the Bottom Line.

Here are my top nine:

#1 — Will this fire up Christian Conservatives who have had some real qualms about Mitt Romney and skepticism about his Mormon faith? Enough to put them enthusiastically in Romney’s camp in solid numbers?

#5 — A majority of African American voters are against gay marriage, but will Obama’s support for this issue reduce turnout in the black community in November? ( I doubt it)

#6 — And what about Hispanics? President Obama was counting on their vote in the Southwest, specifically in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. But many Hispanics are Catholic and culturally conservative. Could this issue somehow tamp down turnout for the president in those key states?

#7 —Six of Obama’s top bundlers come from the gay community. Will this increase their pull in the campaign? And will it open up more contributions, especially in the Obama aligned Super PACS which have been lagging in fundraising compared to the Republican aligned Super PACS?

# 9 — The President told Robin that he wants to leave the question of same sex marriage to the states for now. But will he face pressure to have the Justice Department join litigation seeking to strike down state bans? That could be the next front in this war.

Those are my nine questions. Let me know yours. I’d love to hear some of your answers too.

Read More: Yahoo News

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OBAMA SAYS “NO” IS NOT AN OPTION FOR THE DREAM ACT: THE DREAM OF OPPORTUNITY IS STILL ALIVE IN OUR TIME

THE DREAM OF OPPORTUNITY IS STILL ALIVE IN OUR TIME – LOOKING BACK AT MAY 4, 2009

President Obama told a largely Hispanic audience today that he is ready to sign the DREAM Act and blamed Republicans for the failure of the legislation that would grant illegal immigrant students a path to citizenship.

Today’s election-year celebration comes as the president courts Latino voters in the run-up to November.

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