Obama Talks Tortas, Religion
March 3rd, 2008, 9:42 am · 12 Comments · posted by Joaquin
Hey, I said to my 80-something old mother, did you hear Barack Obama dropped in on Sombrero Festival, unannounced and mingled with the locals for half an hour?
“Pues si,” my mother said rather cooly, “Obama no conoce la gente Mexicana muy bien.”
But he sure has been trying, hasn’t he? The unsaid assumption in my mother’s simple statement is that Obama’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, knows South Texas and Latinos as well as her Senate constituents in upstate New York. I’m not buying that one, or the notion that because Clinton has come here plenty for lucrative fundraisers in ritzy north McAllen means she has a great personal connection with Rio Grande Valley locals.
Both candidates, of course, have self-serving reasons for their newfound interest in South Texas. The state’s primary is on tap for tomorrow, March 4, and Obama can either close out the Dem nomination by winning here and/or in Ohio, or Clinton can save her struggling presidential bid by doing the same.
In addition to each candidate visiting the Valley twice in recent weeks, and sending high-profile surrogates ranging from Hill’s hub, Bill, to JFK’s daughter, Carolina, (for Obama), we’ve witnessed the media blitz of each campaign. Both campaigns are flushed with cash, so we’ve seen more Obama and Clinton TV ads than those from local candidates. And it’s just not the generic national ads running everywhere. One Obama radio ad aired locally talks about the need for a veterans’ hospital in the Valley, the decades-long wish of many in our area.
If nothing else, all of the attention has been nice. Just from an entertainment standpoint, Obama’s impromptu drop-in at Sombrero Festival was quite remarkable. After speaking at a private gathering of religious leaders at UT-Brownsville, Obama was apparently driven around town some before coming to Washington Park in the heart of Brownsville, where the festival was being held.
Out pops the Dem presidential frontrunner for a 30-minute visit with the locals, munching on a torta and signing autographs and taking photos with young and old. It wasn’t a planned event. The only local media there was a contigent from The Brownsville Herald, which happened to be tailing Obama’s mini-caravan. So, given the scant media there, Obama wasn’t trying to milk media coverage by dropping in on the festival. Maybe he just felt like taking a brief break from the rigors of an intense campaign.
And so, a prez candidate who just a few days before was fending off Hillary barbs at a high-stakes debate in Cleveland, was now munching on a torta and shaking hands with pretty little Brownsville girls at Somberero Festival. What made the festival visit even more remarkable was that just days earlier the New York Times  had published a page 1 story which detailed concerns about Obama’s personal safety. The story reported that Obama is already getting presidential-level Secret Service protection because of safety concerns, and now here he was with nothing between him and a Sombrero Festival torta.
A half-hour visit may not do much to dent the Clinton name brand in South Texas, but still, it was a nice gesture on Obama’s part. Maybe my dear Mom is right in saying Obama doesn’t know Hispanics in Texas very well, but one poll out over the weekend, (Survey USA), shows Clinton’s lead among Texas Hispanics has shrunk from a 33 percent edge a week ago to a current 13 percent gap.
The Chisme guess is that Obama wins Texas, where his numbers have been climbing, but Clinton holds on to prevail in Ohio. A split decision means the race will go on, getting grubbier by the day and week because the Clintons won’t give up, no matter what.
But, alas, for at least half an hour Obama got a taste of Brownsville and a torta stuffed with cabbage and roast beef, with a sprinkling of salsa.
“It’s good,” Obama said taking a bite out of a sandwich prepared by a 17-year-old Pace High School student, who said he was shaking while preparing a torta for the palate of a man who might be this country’s next president.
Yes, senator, it’s good, it’s all good.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
The sudden attention the Valley has received from presidential hopefuls is unprecedented, so rare in fact that the light from the national press cameras might be bright enough to blind some voters to the fact that while these appearances are valuable and a come-lately show of recognition for Hispanic voters and for South Texas, the real fight begins after Tuesday’s primary. That’s the fight to KEEP the attention of the presidential nominees and eventually the president. Right now, all anyone can talk about is Obama’s drop in on Sombrero Fest. And it’s understandable. Watching a potential president strolling the Washington Park grounds, eating a stuffed torta was enough for some to drink the Obama Kool-Aid and wash down the attention that we’ve never quite so enjoyed. What happens Tuesday is crucial to the future of the country. But it will be our willingness to fight for the spotlight during the next four-plus years that will make these moments in political times most valuable.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Well said, Editora. We should all remember, though, that Kool-Aid is being offered in a variety of flavors this year, even though the selection is expected to narrow between now and November. It’s ALL Kool-Aid, regardless of who’s serving it. Obama’s not alone in his ability to attract hero worship. There’s something spectacularly meaningful to us human beings about being seen, even if our visage flashes ever-so-quickly across the retina of the candidate. I’d love to see a dialogue about how we maintain our position in the spotlight once the race is determined. Joaquin? Any ideas?
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Thanks for the posts, they’re both really good.
I think the degree of attention that Texas gets from 2009-2012 will depend if the state is seen as any sort of swing state by the new president. If Obama or Clinton are elected, and Texas is still seen as being a solid red state (probably), I doubt that we’ll see much of them.
Look for Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida to keep getting lots of attention from the new president be it McCain or one of the Dems.
Look at recent presidents. Clinton lavished attention on California when it was a purple state in the 1990s. Bush 2 focused on Florida and Pennsylvania.
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
As one who grew up in a solidly Democratic Texas, it still feels like I’m in a parallel universe when we talk about a solid red Texas. I’m feeling really, really old. I miss Sissy, Ann and Molly.
On the other hand, is there still a chance that we will elect a President who has something on his or her mind other than re-election? Someone who might want to do the right work for the people who need it most regardless of the electoral consequences?
Oh, I forgot. Kucinich dropped out of the race.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
¡Viva Obama!
“Mariachi to lift the soul and get out the vote”
http://www.amigosdeobama.com/
free mp3
“Si Se Puede Cambiar” by Andres Useche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ky8Hvq-F0U
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I really enjoyed this article. VERY well written, and un-bias by all means.
I’m tired of looking back on my hometown’s newspaper and reading comments of bias “Clinton Country” propaganda.
I hope the unfortunate geographically segregated city where I have spent 18 years of my life will opens it’s eyes to this candidate just a little bit more, so his message of hope can prevail as it has here in the state’s capital.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Obama’s bad judgment is being questioned again.
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/houstoned/2008/03/barack_obama_dorothy_tillman_a.php
Learn all you can about Obama before you vote for him:
Google “Freedom’s enemies Barack Hussein Obama”
March 4th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Thanks for the comments and posts. Gee, I think sometimes people are too tough on their hometowns. Brownsville is an “unfortunate geographically segregated city?” I’m not sure what that means. Is El Paso way out in West Texas by its lonesomes a geographically segregated city? How about Odessa and Midland?
In generations past, in the days before instant communications and the Internet, there were areas geographically isolated. With improved communications, air travel, etc., there’s hardly any such thing anymore.
People in Brownsville and the RGV are just as capable as people in Austin of having good political discussions. Saying otherwise strikes me as snobbery.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:48 am
We are in a disctinct corner of the world, agreed. But the notion that because we are not in middle America, or even middle Texas, we are somehow isolated from the issues or the political process is an unfortunate (and unfortunately popular) theory. If we’re going to matter to politicians all the way in Washington, D.C., or Austin for that matter, we have to decide amongst ourselves that we matter to each other, first. Respecting opposing points of view is a first step, though one that seems too large to make for a lot of political types here.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:39 am
“Geographically segregated,” Brownsville is in a unique place in the world. So unique, that diversity does not run rampant as it does in other cities. This diversity calls upon other peoples opinions, ideas, cultures, creeds, be it bias or not. Not to say that Brownsvillians do not have there own diverse marketplace of ideas, because plenty do and can be heard and seen day to day. The unfortunate aspect of a lack of diversity is what I was referencing to in my last comment. I love Brownsville, the culture and people, and even at times it’s unique isolation. But as Diversity goes, theres none to be found.
Oh, and Joaquin, I never stated the RGV or Brownsville are not capable of holding political discussions, I know plenty of individuals whom I myself have had discussions with, and know theres more out there.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
We live in a border region. It’s going to be a predominately Mexican-American area. I guess that is what’s referenced as to the lack of diversity. Using that gauge, a great many regions and cities in this country also lack diversity, with most being predominately white as in, for example, communities in Iowa and the Dakotas. That doesn’t make them bad places at all. It’s where they are geographically just like where we’re located.
Is having a largely homogonized population, be it Hispanic, black or white, bad? Not necessarily. We all can’t be big city elities, nor want to be, living in a United Nations of diversity like NYC or LA.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Toby
I think you are absolutely on track here!