McCain, pro-war vets target N.M.

Presidential candidate reaches out to Hispanics with radio ad in Spanish

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

7/4/2008 - 7/4/08

New Mexico, considered a swing state in the presidential election this year, has been chosen for a new Spanish-language radio ad for Republican candidate John McCain and a television ad for a national pro-war veteran's group.

The 60-second McCain ad, which will run in New Mexico as well as Nevada, features the voice of Frank Gamboa, McCain's roommate at the U.S. Naval Academy, speaking in Spanish. It's a direct appeal for Hispanic support for the Republican candidate in states with large Hispanic populations.

According to an English translation provided by the campaign, Gamboa, who calls himself "a proud Latino," says McCain "wants what is best for the Hispanic community" and "shares our same conservative values and faith in God. He knows that family is the focal part of our lives and that we value hard work."

The ad also plays up regional pride. "Being from Arizona, John knows this. He has earned the trust of Latinos and has a history of supporting us."

In 2004, President Bush fared far better with Hispanics than previous Republican presidential candidates. According to some polls, Bush received about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. McCain's ad is an obvious appeal to conservative Hispanics who backed Bush. McCain sees an opportunity to capitalize on the fact that Democrat Barack Obama was weak among Hispanics compared with his primary rival Hillary Clinton.

However recent polls show support for the GOP by Hispanics has fallen.

Part of that could be because of the harsh rhetoric from some Republicans that has accompanied the immigration debate. Though McCain co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration bill with Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy, he has since said he would vote against that bill, which would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Also soon to hit New Mexico — and 11 other battleground states — with ads is a group called Vets for Freedom, which identifies itself as a "nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" whose mission is "to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying our firsthand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics in Iraq."

According to a news release, VFF next week will announce "a multimillion-dollar television-advertising buy in target markets and on national cable that will air next week and run throughout July and August."

In addition to the ads, the group intends to establish "grass-roots" organizations in the targeted states and "pound the pavement."

Although they call themselves "nonpartisan," and the news release doesn't mention either presidential candidate, the group, according to its Web site, already has run commercials critical of Obama.

The liberal Web site SourceWatch calls VFF a Republican "front group" with ties to President Bush and conservative publisher William Kristol, whose magazine The Weekly Standard has published several articles by VFF leaders.

The most prominent Democrat backed by the organization was pro-war U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut in 2006 but was re-elected as an independent.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.

ON THE WEB

• John McCain radio ad: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV8D3ITyd2w

• Vets for Freedom Web site: www.vetsforfreedom.com