Sucking Up to Voters: A Guide for Presidential Candidates

Obama

Do
• show you feel Latinos' economic pain and talk about jobs, jobs, jobs
• hammer on the need for immigration reform and blame Republicans for blocking it; promise action in your second term
• note that you stopped deportations of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children; and hit Romney for harshing on undocumented immigrants during the GOP primaries
• talk up healthcare reform (popular with Latinos)

Don’t
• talk about how you’ve deported more unauthorized immigrants (over 1 million) than any other president
• admit you didn't try very hard on immigration reform
• assume winning the Latino vote is enough; you have to win big

Romney

Do
• emphasize how hard hit Latinos have been by Obama’s lousy economy
• tone down the harsh anti-immigrant talk; even better: have an actual plan
• emphasize education, opportunity, and "family values"
• pal around with Sen. Marco Rubio

Don’t
• tell unauthorized immigrants to "self-deport"
• use stock photos of Asian children on Latino outreach website, like the Republican Party did
• expect to win the Latino vote, but do try to cut into Obama's margin