The president’s whirlwind visit lasted all of four hours, during which he spoke in broad and sweeping platitudes, claiming that “the aspirations and struggles of this island mirror those of the United States” and promising “we are going to put people back to work here in Puerto Rico and all across America.”
Obama further attempted to ingratiate himself with the crowd by exhausting his meager inventory of phrasebook Spanish. In so doing he used the same exaggerated Spanish accent he invoked when he famously uttered the nonsense phrase cinco de cuatro in 2009, providing even the usually sympathetic comedian Jon Stewart with ammunition.
He blew into town like one of those hurricanes out of the Caribe and left a whole bunch of pissed off Puerto Ricans in his wake by ignoring some substantive problems in that U.S.possession nor offering any federal support for worthy causes down there:
Leaders of Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party noticed the stark absence of any concrete offers of help or solutions with these pressing issues—and they were resentful. Local Sen. Melinda Romero, a delegate of the island’s chapter of the Democratic Party, has demanded an apology from Obama and asked that he return the money raised during the brief stopover.
Adding to the resentment of the ruling New Progressives, led by Republican Gov. Luis Fortuno, is the unscheduled lunch that Obama had with opposition gubernatorial candidate Alejandro Garcia, a photo op from which now appears on the White House website.
Yessir, just like our hero, Captain Ron.
But he did not limit his ungraciousness to Puerto Rica. He seems to have pissed off others of Hispanic descent as well:
Leaders of a national Hispanic organization are criticizing President Barack Obama for skipping their annual conference for the third consecutive year after he promised as a candidate in 2008 that he would return as president.
Some members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials also are questioning Obama’s commitment to immigration reform, noting that deportations have increased under his watch — even as the administration intensifies its outreach for Hispanic votes. NALEO, which includes more than 6,000 Latino leaders who represent major blocs of voters in key electoral states, opens its annual conference Thursday in San Antonio.
The rift is noteworthy — and even a little puzzling — because of the administration’s aggressive push for Hispanic support ahead of 2012. Obama’s campaign team is trying to raise historically low rates of Hispanic registration and voter turnout in at least a half-dozen swing states, and one Obama adviser involved in his reelection effort recently told POLITICO, “Hispanics could very well decide this election.”
..who but dope-rolling troll dolts could love an ill-mannered clod like this?
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