New technology (sort of), but same ol’ message

President Barack Obama engaged in what I’m sure his people will try to portray as a major event that reached out to the Latino segment of the electorate.

OBAMA: Nice talk. Where's the action?

He spent some time Wednesday taking part in an event coordinated by Yahoo! People who have accounts with Yahoo!, MSN Latino and AOL Latino/Huffington Post Latino Voice were able to submit questions that would be asked of the president.

THEY’RE GOING TO claim that he’s using the Internet to reach out to Latinos (who do use the Internet in increasing numbers) and to assure us that he is looking out for the interests of the fast-growing segment of our society.

Bull!

Reading through the reports of what was said by Obama in response to the questions that were put before him makes me think that he’s merely reiterating the rhetoric he has spouted for the past couple of years.

He supports us theoretically, but has left many of my ethnic brethren thinking that he’s not willing to take positive action on our behalf if it means creating a potential beef with the conservative ideologues of our society.

OF COURSE, THOSE same ideologues are the ones who want to spout the trash talk that Obama is doing nothing BUT giving in to our every whim. Which shows just how out-of-touch with reality they truly are.

But what came out of Obama on Wednesday was the idea that he is upset with those Latino activists who want him to use more of his executive authority to impose changes in immigration policy.

He’s right in saying that it would take a serious effort to overcome the ideologues to actually get Congress to pass something, which is permanent (as opposed to executive orders that are short-term and often rescinded by future presidents).

But it’s also the same thing we’ve been hearing.

IT MERELY REINFORCES the fact that the reason a large percentage of the Latino electorate will choose Obama over whoever wins the Republican presidential nomination next year is because that GOP candidate is too likely to cater to the ideologues.

It’s “Democrat by Default.” Still!

It also was numbing to read the presidential answer to the idea of Puerto Rico becoming a full-fledged state. Because he gave the same non-answer that all presidents typically give.

Which is, No change, until there is a “solid indication” that people support it.

YOU MIGHT AS well have had him say “No comment.” For all the lack of detail that such an answer gave us. It’s not an issue that Obama is going to waste much brain matter on.

Which is why a lot of the trash talk that gets directed at Obama from the ideologues is just absolutely ridiculous. This “socialist” of a president is so capable of being a non-committal middle-of-the-roader that only those same ideologues who think that Obama is giving away the store to Latinos seriously believes he’s a radical.

If anything, there was only one line that came from Obama’s mouth that was remotely interesting, and more in a symbolic sense than anything that would result in solid policy changes.

Obama said he seriously believes the Latino population will grow to such levels that election of a president or vice-president with ethnic origins in Latin America is inevitable in the near future.

“I AM ABSOLUTELY certain that within my lifetime we will have a Latino candidate that will be very competitive and may win,” Obama said.

Which are words that may well be inspiring and motivating to some young Latino currently in college. And whose image may well scare all those ideologues senseless.

Obama’s willingness to express such a thought may well be the lone reason why he gets Latino votes come ’12.

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