In the presidential election of 2008, candidate Barack Obama captured 67% of the Latino vote, far above the 31% captured by John McCain. The political landscape has drastically changed since then. We’ve been through a near meltdown of the global financial system, a massive government bail-out of the same institutions that started the crisis, a government takeover of the auto industry, a continuing foreclosure crisis and unemployment that threatens to break 10%. Add the two continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and its safe to say that President Obama’s popularity isn’t what it once was.
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Except among Latinos. A survey done by the Pew Hispanic Center this summer indicates that 63% of registered Latinos approve of the job Obama is doing, well above the 47% among the rest of the nation. Farai spoke by phone with Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center and an author of the report about some of its surprising results. Listen to the interview above, or download a transcript of the interview here.
