San Diego – Following President Obama’s first year in office, it’s time for Latinos to channel Janet Jackson and ask the president: “What have you done for us lately?”
America’s largest minority is certainly entitled to the question. Nearly 10 million Latinos cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election. Two-thirds of those votes went to Obama, whose record with Latinos was scant; let’s recall that UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, while stumping for Hillary Clinton, called Obama a “Johnny come lately” to Latino issues.
Still, Latinos stood by Obama, and now they expect him to return the favor. But has he done so? The results are mixed. In some respects, Obama has done a lot for Latinos. In other ways, not so much.
Let’s start with the issues. Polls show that the top concerns for most Latinos are the economy, education, and health care.
San Diego – Dado que el Presidente Obama ya cumplió un año en la presidencia, es hora que los Latinos imitemos a Janet Jackson y hagamos al presidente la pregunta: “Qué ha hecho por nosotros últimamente?”
La minoría más grande del país tiene derecho a hacer la pregunta. Casi 10 millones de Latios votaron en la elección presidencial de 2008. Dos terceras partes de esos votos fueron para Obama, cuyo récord con los Latinos era muy escaso; recordemos que la co-fundadora del sindicato UFW (Trabajadores Agrícolas Unidos), Dolores Huerta, que hacía campaña a favor de Hillary Clinton, llamó a Obama un advenedizo con respecto a los problemas de los Latinos.
Aún así, los Latinos apoyaron a Obama y ahora esperan que les regrese el favor. Pero. . . lo ha hecho? Los resultados son mixtos. En algunos aspectos, Obama ha hecho mucho por los Latinos. En otros aspectos, no mucho.
Empecemos con los problemas. Las encuestas muestran que las principales preocupaciones de la mayoría de los Latinos son la economía, la educación y la atención médica.
* The economy. Obama didn’t get around to creating jobs until near the end of his first year. Meanwhile, unemployment ballooned to double-digits under his watch. Grade: C-
* Education. Obama took on teachers unions with his “Race to The Top” initiative, which holds teachers accountable for student performance. Grade: A -
* Heath Care: Obama backed a government-financed public option to provide health insurance for the poor – then abandoned it. He also failed to address the costs of prescription drugs. Grade: B
Then there is the matter of personnel, hiring, and appointments. According to the Associated Press, Obama is on track to name more Latinos to top posts than any of his predecessors – including George W. Bush who is widely acknowledged to have had the most diverse Cabinet in U.S. History as relates to Latinos. Obama got off to a strong start by naming three Latinos to the Cabinet: Rep. Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary, Sen. Ken Salazar as Interior Secretary, and Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary. (Richardson withdrew after he became part of a FBI investigation into political corruption in New Mexico. Richardson was ultimately not charged with any wrongdoing).
But where Obama really hit the ball out of the park was in nominating federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor was confirmed as the nation’s first Latina Supreme Court justice. According to the Associated Press, Obama has tapped more than 50 Latinos to senior positions that require Senate confirmation, of which thirty-five of them have been approved. In their first two years in office, Bill Clinton had 30 Latino appointments approved and George W. Bush had 34. On appointments and hiring, Obama did fairly well. Grade: A –
Finally, saving the most explosive for last, there is the subject of immigration reform. And frankly, Obama’s handling of that issue has been a major disappointment. While addressing the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza in July 2008 as a presidential candidate, Obama promised to make comprehensive immigration reform “a top priority in my first year as president.”
Well, his first year came and went, and this “top priority” came down to 37 words. That’s how much space Obama devoted to immigration reform in his first State of the Union address. Here’s what he said: “And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system – to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”
Note that Obama avoided phrases like “comprehensive immigration reform” or “earned legal status.” Instead, he emphasized positive phrases like “secure our borders” and “enforce our laws.” The president may still pursue immigration reform in 2010, but – after the health care debacle – it’s unlikely he’ll have much success. We’ll have to wait and see. Grade: Incomplete.
Add it all up, and you’ll see that Obama has been a better-than-average president as far as Latinos are concerned. And yet, at the same time, he has not been nearly as good as advertised.
So much for hope and change. It looks more like bait and switch.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board, a nationally syndicated columnist and a regular contributor to CNN.COM. Contact him at www.rubennavarrette.com
La economía. Obama no logró crear empleos sino hasta el final de su primer año. Mientras tanto, el desempleo se disparó hasta alcanzar cifras de dos dígitos. Calificación: C.
Educación. Obama se enfrentó a los sindicatos y la burocracia de la educación con su iniciativa “Race to The Top” (Carrera Hacia la Cima), que responsabiliza a los maestros del desempeño de los alumnos. Calificación: A
Atención Médica: Obama apoyó una opción pública financiada por el gobierno para brindar atención médica a los pobres – y después la abandonó. También falló en solucionar el problema del alto costo de los medicamentos que requieren receta médica. Calificación: B.
Y luego repasemos el asunto de personal, contrataciones y nombramientos. De acuerdo a la Prensa Asociada, si Obama continúa como hasta ahora, habrá nombrado más Latinos a puestos importantes que cualquiera de sus predecesores – incluyendo a George W. Bush que es reconocido por haber tenido el Gabinete más diverso en la historia de los Estados Unidos, en cuanto a los Latinos se refiere. Obama tuvo un inicio fuerte al nombrar tres Latinos al Gabinete: la Representante Hilda Solís como Secretaria del Trabajo, el Senador Ken Salazar como Secretario del Interior, y el Gobernador Bill Richardson como Secretario de Comercio. (Richardson posteriormente se retiró tras ser involucrado en una investigación del FBI en relación a la corrupción en Nuevo México. No se le hizo ningún cargo.)
Pero donde Obama realmente se voló la barda fue al nominar a la Juez Sonia Sotomayor de la Corte Federal de Apelaciones a la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación. Sotomayor fue confirmada como la primera juez Latina en la Suprema Corte. De acuerdo a la Prensa Asociada, Obama ha nombrado a más de 50 Latinos a puestos principales que requieren de la aprobación del Senado, treinta y cinco de los cuales han sido aprobados. En sus primeros dos años de gobierno, Bill Clinton logró se le aprobaran 30 nombramientos de Latinos y George W. Bush logró se le aprobaran 34. En cuanto a nombramientos y contrataciones, Obama lo hizo más o menos bien. Calificación: A
Finalmente, y dejando el asunto más candente para el final, está el asunto de la reforma a la inmigración. Y francamente, la forma en que Obama ha manejado ese asunto ha sido una gran decepción. Al dirigirse a la junta anual del Consejo Nacional de La Raza en Julio 2008 cuando era candidato a la presidencia, Obama prometió hacer de la reforma a la inmigración “una de las principales prioridades de mi primer año como presidente”.
Bien, su primer año ya vino y se fue, y su “principal prioridad” se redujo a 37 palabras. Ese es el espacio que Obama dedicó a la reforma a la inmigración en su primer informe presidencial.
He aquí lo que dijo: “Y deberíamos continuar con la labor de arreglar nuestro descompuesto sistema de inmigración – asegurar nuestras fronteras, hacer cumplir nuestras leyes, y garantizar que todos aquellos que obedecen las reglas puedan contribuir a nuestra economía y enriquecer nuestra nación”.
Obama evitó utilizar frases como “reforma exhaustiva a la inmigración” o “ganarse el status legal”. En vez de ello, hizo énfasis en frases positivas como “asegurar nuestras fronteras” y “hacer cumplir nuestras leyes”.
El presidente aún podría intentar la reforma a la inmigración en 2010, pero – después de la debacle de la reforma al sistema de salud – no es probable que tenga mucho éxito. Habremos de esperar a ver. Calificación: Incompleta.
Al sumar todo, vemos que Obama ha sido un presidente superior al promedio en cuanto a los Latinos se refiere, pero al mismo tiempo, no ha sido tan bueno como se anunciaba.
Hasta ahí la esperanza y el cambio. Más parece tratarse de cebo y trastrueco.
Las opiniones expresadas en este comentario son únicamente las de Rubén Navarrete.
Rubén Navarrete Jr. es integrante del consejo editorial del periódico San Diego Union-Tribune, es un columnista publicado a nivel nacional y contribuye con regularidad a CNN.COM. Usted puede comunicarse con el en www.rubennavarrette.com
March 10th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Keeping aside your prejudices, why should the illegal undocumented workers who do not pay taxes benefit at all from the government? I am a foreign worker too, and I will leave the US within a few months when my work permit expires. I do not plan to overstay, my wife and I pay a whopping 40% of our gross salary on taxes (easy to guess what state we live in) and we pay social security taxes too. Once we leave this country, all the SS taxes we paid, is for nothing. We are unhappy about that but we don’t complain because it makes sense to collect SS taxes from every one (if they finally decide to reside in the US for good). Also, the government here provides decent protection, good infrastructure and other amenities. So, how is it ‘FAIR’ for illegal immigrants to get ‘MOST’ of the benefits and not pay for it? You think I wouldn’t mind not paying taxes?
March 10th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
I think the point is if illegal aliens are given a path to legalization, they will pay taxes. And as it is many of them do so already without access to all the benefits. I’m not promoting breaking the law but rather changing the law to better address our reality and the needs of both our economy and people willing to come and contribute to America.
March 10th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Xavier said “I think the point is if illegal aliens are given a path to legalization, they will pay taxes.”
How do you support the notion that breaking our Law is justified? Anyone in this Nation illegally is not entitled to services and should be arrested and deported!
March 10th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
President Obama has done something that the media has roundly ignored: reformed the Executive Branch. Gone are all the blatantly political patronage appointments of unqualified people of the Bush era who were often appointed to deliberately block the mission of their executive agencies.
In their place, President Obama has appointed qualified individuals who are actually doing their jobs properly. For the first time since the Housing & Community Development Act of 1974 went into effect, the Obama Administration is actually requiring that Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) be spent properly and that recipient jurisdiction actually “affirmatively further fair housing” which is a very clear condition for accepting CDBG money. It’s like that in other federal executive departments as well. We finally have a law abiding administration in Washington that is turning the executive branch into a functional branch of government again. And this really drives the Republicans crazy because they did all they could to destroy government when they had the reigns of power.
March 18th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Handicapper, you say illegal aliens should be deported because all they did and continue doing is break the law. In fact, most of them come not because they want to break the law but because back home they don’t have anything. They leave home, Handicapper, home and family. You don’t understand the nostalgia they feel and I wish you did. Years without visiting the home they grew up in and seeing their mother and siblings is not easy. The thing is, they’re willing to give that up because they need the basic necessities that they can’t get at home. It’s not a decision made just out of spite or because they wish to break another country’s laws.
Perhaps if immigration laws were reformed and not so outdated, they wouldn’t be breaking them. That is why we want and immigration reform.