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 News from Around the Americas | September 2007 
Dems' Questions in Español, Answers in English
 Glenn Thrush - Newsday
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| | Democratic presidential candidate, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson takes part in the Univision Democratic Candidate forum at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida September 9, 2007. (Hans Deryk/Reuters) |
Coral Gables, Fla. - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the only Hispanic presidential candidate, says he was prevented from speaking his ancestral tongue by Democratic "front-runners" Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at the first-ever Spanish-language debate last night.
The 2008 hopefuls who gathered for the Univision forum at the University of Miami agreed to field moderators' questions in Spanish, listen to an English translation, and give their answers exclusively in English.
Richardson, a Mexican-American who speaks fluent Spanish, said the restrictions amounted to imposing an "English only" policy on an event that was meant to showcase the emerging importance of 43 million Spanish-speaking Americans.
"I was under the impression that in this debate Spanish would be permitted," said Richardson, who served as former President Bill Clinton's United Nations ambassador and energy secretary. "I am very disappointed that [viewers] are not allowed to hear one of their own speak Spanish."
Richardson and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who is also fluent in Spanish, did get off a few words in the language, much to the dismay of Univision broadcaster Maria Elena Salinas.
After the debate, Richardson claimed the "front-runners said we couldn't have one of the candidates speaking Spanish," adding: "I only agreed reluctantly to the rules because I didn't want to boycott the first Spanish debate."
Clinton adviser Maria Cardona said Univision set the policy and "the candidates had nothing to do with the rules." A network official said they had imposed the rule to "guarantee an even playing field," but said that Clinton and other non-speakers had backed the "No Spanish" rule.
The debate was an acknowledgment of the influence of 16 million Hispanic voters, who are the fastest-growing part of the American electorate. Despite President George W. Bush's attempts to woo Hispanics to the Republican party, half identify themselves as Democrats, while only about a quarter say they're loyal to the GOP. The network's Republican debate has been postponed.
Last night's debate focused on core issues for Spanish-speaking Americans, topics that have largely been ignored in previous debates, including the future of Cuba, aid to Central and South America, bilingual education and the plight of Hispanic homeowners who risk foreclosure in the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
The moderators were eager to hold candidates accountable for votes that were unpopular among Latinos. Clinton, Obama and Dodd were grilled about their vote in favor of the construction of a border fence between the United States and Mexico.
Both Clinton and Obama sidestepped the question, stressing their support of the Bush administration's defeated immigration reform package, which included a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. "We can't just have hundreds of thousands of people coming into the country and not know who they are," Obama said in defense of the wall.
Moderators read an e-mail from viewer Pilar Martinez of Long Island, who asked the candidates to commit to revisiting immigration reform during their first year in office. All seven agreed.
Richardson, who ranks fourth in most polls but has been gaining steadily in several key states, seemed determined to battle against his relative obscurity - and his own Anglo surname.
"A lot of Hispanics don't even know I'm Hispanic," he told reporters. "Hey, my name's Richardson."
glenn.thrush@newsday.com |
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