"La Hillary" Moves to Shore up Latino Support

SAN DIEGO -- Introducing "La Hillary."

Supposedly, this kinder and gentler version of the Democratic front-runner will be more user-friendly for Latinos.

The elements include: proclaiming support for comprehensive immigration reform despite having done little to achieve it while in the Senate; bashing Republicans for slimy attempts to demagogue Latino immigrants as criminals who simultaneously take welfare and take your job; and finally getting around to criticizing her former boss, President Obama, for a deportation policy that went haywire.

And perhaps taking more trips to San Antonio to pose for pictures alongside that city's former mayor, 41-year-old Mexican-American political "rock star" Julian Castro. Some political observers suggest that he has the best chance of any Latino to be vice president since then-San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros was interviewed by Walter Mondale in 1984.

As new signs emerge that Vice President Joe Biden could be entering the race, speculation is intensifying that Hillary Clinton might ultimately pick the secretary of Housing and Urban Development as her running mate.

While in the Alamo City last week for a Q&A with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Clinton said she would "look really hard at [Castro] for anything, because that's how good he is." In turn, Castro endorsed Clinton, telling folks at a "Latinos for Hillary" rally: "The difference between her and the Republican candidates is that she respects the Latino community."

I don't believe that Clinton actually "respects" Latinos or that she would "look really hard" at Castro for the No. 2 spot.

But others certainly do. Castro is already being attacked by Republicans who -- having spent the summer using the immigration issue to scare up votes from white people -- are now themselves frightened of the possibility of running against a Democratic ticket with a Latino on it.

Memo to Republicans: You obviously have a learning disability when it comes to Latinos. Keep this up, and you won't see the inside of the White House again until your grandkids have grandkids.

It seems that Castro also has to contend with an absurd whisper campaign by Democrats loyal to Tim Kaine who think Clinton should pick the senator from Virginia as her running mate. Some of them are condescending enough to suggest that Kaine would have greater appeal to Latinos because, unlike Castro, he speaks Spanish.

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