Obama’s polling numbers have slipped slightly since the first presidential debate, including among Latinos. Romney aides this week, however, apparently decided that to attribute to a more endemic factor than a poor debate presence—they’re trying to claim that Obama is not “macho” enough for Latino voters. As Buzzfeed reported today:
Romney aides told BuzzFeed their polling indicates that Obama’s biggest vulnerability among Hispanics is that he’s viewed as a “weak leader.” In much of Latino culture, they explained, political leaders are expected to demonstrate a macho bravado, and Obama’s debate performance last month — with his verbal pauses, downward gaze, and weak defense of his own record — seemed to exacerbate the incumbent’s perception problem.
Right. Obama lack of macho is hurting him so much with Latino voters that he’s capturing 67% of the Latino vote, while Romney continues to be stuck in the low 20s, according to the latest Latino Decisions tracking poll. As Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos shot back in his post today, “Obama is so weak, macho Latinos only support him by 44 points.”
In a satirical post at AMERICAblog, Gabe Ortiz today further wondered what world those Romney aides are living in, believing that Romney is the macho one while Obama is “as weak and womanly as a tamale-making nana.” He continued:
“Mitt is manly like the Mexican hero Speedy Gonzalez,” said Romney aide Marc Henderson, who affirmed his alpha Latino-ness by yelling at his Guatemalan maid earlier that morning.
“Obama doesn’t come close. Obama’s like a Frida Kahlo painting. Full of feelings and all that empathy crap. Who has time to decipher all that when you’ve been busy running for president the last twenty years?”
Romney aides also blasted the President for allowing the First Lady to travel alone, and without a male escort. They publicly wondered “who has the huevos in that household?”
Busy riding dressage-horse Rafalca, hairy-chested and shirtless on a beach with salt-and-pepper locks flowing in the wind like Ricardo Montalban, Mr. Romney could not be reached directly for comment.
Actress Rosie Perez also jumped in on the Romney campaign / Latino vote silliness by riffing on the time Mitt Romney about how life would be easier for him if he were Latino. Here’s Rosie sympathizing with Romney and how “cursed” he was to have grown up as the scion of a wealthy family:
Unfortunately for you, Mitt, you were cursed. Growing up as the son of a wealthy governor and auto executive. And when your father paid your way through private school, Harvard, Harvard Law, and bought you your first house, I just can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you.
But the truth is, the reason Latinos aren’t voting for you, is that your policies suck. Being Latino wouldn’t win the election for you. But saying, jokingly, that you wish you were, might actually lose it for you.
Watch Rosie’s full clip here:
Jokes and satire aside, all three of these commentators understand something that Romney apparently just can’t. Romney isn’t losing the Latino vote because of who he is or who Obama is. He’s losing the Latino vote because, as Markos said, “he’s horrible on the issues they care about.” Before tonight’s second presidential debate, watch our video below on Mitt Romney’s immigration policies to better understand why:
