Obama’s Townhall, a chance to respect Latinos’ time

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

If I were to advise President Obama about his Townhall in Miami today, I’d tell him to be respectful of time.

He’s not one to ramble. Through the years he’s learned to be less professorial – my apologies to academics, but I think American’s like their president to be intelligent and to the point. Explanations will come later from the battalion of staffers that work in the West Wing.

He isn’t one to waste a political opportunity either. So we could expect him to hit his stride from talking point to talking point, framing  issues, positioning his opposition, connecting with his audience. I’d rather he didn’t, because that would waste my time.

I’d like to hear something new.

So my advice would be for him to spare us from riding the political momentum; on immigration we already blame Republicans 2 to 1 for stalling reform. And my challenge to the Townhall moderator, Jose Diaz-Balart, would be to prod for substance while respecting the office of the President. (You’re allowed to be tough, of course. But hard questioning the same old points can come across as useless bravado. Dig, for something we haven’t already heard.)

I’m curious to know what took him so long to move on immigration. He’s had ample opportunities, but conventional wisdom says that those past opportunities weren’t politically expedient – he could gain more from the issue by stretching it out, playing it against Republicans. It may have worked in the larger strategic picture, but it disrespected Latinos’  time. The undocumented, after all, can’t do more than wait in the shadows if waiting is the only option. And for all the pressure and protests, Latinos were told to hold fast. I’d like to hear him say why he did it, it would br refreshing.

Latinos have been waiting, their support of the Democratic party is dropping, the President has made an end-run with his executive order, and now he’ll sit for a townhall. He needs to say something we haven’t heard before, and he needs to say it quickly.

I’d also like to hear him go beyond immigration. The majority of U.S Latinos have education, and job, and economy and health concerns. It would be good to hear the nation’s leader acknowledge that Latinos aren’t one-dimensional, that we respond to more than immigration. I’d advise the President that doing so would be a sign of respect, that he sees us, hears us and isn’t wasting our time by talking at us.