A Rising Star Out of Texas

SAN DIEGO -- Now that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has been chosen to give the keynote speech at next month's Democratic National Convention, I wanted to hear what he plans to do with this incredible opportunity.

Castro told me he intends to tell his story along with his family's story and explain how both are just an extension of something bigger.

"The Latino community's American story is the story of all immigrant groups," he said. "And there is a lot of celebration there and hope for the future. There's no question that we've made a lot of progress, and we need to see the glass as half full."

The Democratic National Committee and President Obama's re-election campaign both want an inspirational speech to remind the base that there is still hope for change. They're likely to get one from Castro. Meanwhile, the 35,000 Democratic faithful who cram into the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., will be hungry for partisan red meat, and they're sure to get that, too.

"I hope to make clear the choice that folks have in front of them in this election," Castro said, "between continuing to move in the right direction and investing in what it takes to create opportunity for all Americans versus what I see as going backward to what got us these problems in the first place."

How about that? The official program hasn't even been printed yet, and the headliner is already on message.

I've known Castro for eight years and consider him a close friend. One of our favorite topics of conversation is Latino political empowerment. I asked how his selection as the first Latino to give a keynote speech at the Democratic convention advanced that goal.

"It's one more indicator of how important the Latino community is to the future of America, not just electorally but in every sense, economically, socially," he said. "It's one more reminder of how important the Latino community is to the United States, and how seriously President Obama takes it."

Castro is one of the co-chairs of the Obama re-election campaign, and we're likely to see him on the stump with the president this fall. And so I asked what does he think Obama makes of the Latino community?

"I'm convinced that he has a very warm sense of Latinos," he said. "His past work includes work within the Latino community in Chicago. I get the sense that he's comfortable with the Latino community and he genuinely wants to listen."

...continued

swipe to next page