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Hispanics in the 1st Gore-Bush Debate

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With every politician in love with Latinos, it's always interesting to see how we are addressed in a non-Hispanic venue. Will they tell the whole world they love Cinco de Mayo? ¿Contestarán en español? It's fine to support fair immigration and language diversity, but it would be nice if someone other than Hispanic crowds heard them say it.

With every politician in love with Latinos, it's always interesting to see how we are addressed in a non-Hispanic venue. Will they tell the whole world they love Cinco de Mayo? ¿Contestarán en español? It's fine to support fair immigration and language diversity, but it would be nice if someone other than Hispanic crowds heard them say it.

As expected, we only got a brief mention in the first Gore-Bush debate. They stuck to the core undecided groups they believed were watching, which ran the range of young professionals (who were probably watching Dark Angel instead of the debates) to retired seniors. 

Governor Bush's comments mentioning Hispanics.

Let me give you a story about public ed, if I might, Jim. It's about KIPP Academy in Houston, Texas. It's a -- it's a charter school run by some people from Teach for America, young folks that said, "Well, I'm going to do something good for my country. I want to teach." A guy named Michael runs the school.

It's a school full of so-called at-risk children. It's how we, unfortunately, label certain children. It means basically they can't learn. It's a school of strong discipline and high standards. It's one of the best schools in Houston.

And here are the key ingredients: high expectations, strong accountability. What Michael says is, "Don't put all these rules on us. Just let us teach and hold us accountable for every grade."

And that's what we do. And as a result, these young, mainly Hispanic, youngsters are some of the best learners in Houston, Texas. That's my vision for public education all around America.

What I find bizarre about his segment is that Bush thought "at-risk" was a bad label for the children who go to this school. He follows up with, "It means basically they can't learn." Would you prefer to be label "at-risk" or "unable to learn"? Some in Houston actually took issue with the term "at-risk". The Houston Chronicle quotes a Houston local person as saying, ""He's using examples about local people he doesn't know. They are the brightest students. They go there by choice."

The Governor and his staff address the school in his staff's own words on his web site.

Located in neighborhoods that face tremendous problems with illiteracy, drug abuse, broken homes, gangs, teen pregnancy and juvenile crime, both campuses serve students that are economically disadvantaged Hispanic and African Americans. For these students in Houston’s poorest neighborhoods, college would normally be the farthest thing from their minds. Instead, it is foremost in their thoughts. A YES seventh grader has his sites set on Duke University; a KIPP ninth grader plans to attend Harvard and become a lawyer....

Seventh graders read about a dozen English language novels while enhancing their bilingual skills in high-school level Spanish language and literature classes...

Outside of the verbal gaffes, it seems the school serves a good purpose and does so effectively. Unfortunately, I can't get past the idea that "low-income" means "can't learn." It's especially disheartening to hear this applied to families who take the extra step in sending their children to schools with higher standards.

Vice-President Gore's comments were much more narrow and left very little room for interpretation. In his usual format, he relied on numbers and the existing economy to prove his validity as a candidate. He said:

Instead of high unemployment, we've got the lowest African-American and lowest Latino unemployment rates ever in history, and 22 million new jobs.

Hiding behind this shiny fact is that Latinos get paid less than their non-Hispanic co-workers, even when training and education are the same. Latinos also suffer from the absence of insurance and other job benefits. There's never been a question of the Latino work ethic. Latin Americans risk their lives to find work. Unfortunately, a living wage and the ability to insure children are still missing from the formula.

One interesting style difference between the two candidates is that Al Gore uses the word "Latino", while George Bush uses the word "Hispanic". As a generalization, it can be said that conservatives and government workers tend to use "Hispanic", while "Latino" is often used in community organizations and liberal venues.

Discuss in the Forum:
Who do you think won the debates?

Don't Miss These Resources

Debate Coverage
• Gore has edge in instant polls - Quepasa.com presents the first results of public response to the debates.
• Debate Issues Impact Latino Community - James E. Garcia, of Politico reviews the issues of the debate and how they impact the Latino community.
• Full Text of the Debates - James E. Garcia, of Politico reviews the issues of the debate and how they impact the Latino community.
• The candidates and the facts in the first debate - There was a surprising lack of fact checking by the media after the debates. Laura Meckler of the Associated Press reports via The Topeka Capital-Journal. She tells us what they said, and whether or not it was true.

Hispanic Education
• Bush to Latinos: Higher Education is Not My Priority - A report on Bush's education history in Texas, from the Gore Campaign.
• Bush's Education Record: Strong Leadership or Just Good Timing? - A history of Texas education from the Austin Chronicle.
• In Bush's Texas, an education miracle or mirage? - John Mintz of The Washington Post, looks at the different views of Texas education.
• Nicholson Calls for Real Education Reform at Hispanic Publishers Convention - A report on Bush's education history in Texas, from the Gore Campaign.
• Hispanic Student Resources - Student organizations for the support, networking, and promotion of Latino students.

Hispanic Wages
• The Hispanic Population - The U.S. Census Bureau presents statistical information on the standard of living for Hispanics i the United States.
• Persistent Poverty Seen Among Latino Families - Latino workers are disproportionately concentrated in low-wage jobs that offer few benefits, a situation that has improved only marginally despite the nation's extended economic boom, according to a report released today by one of the country's leading Latino civil rights organizations. Reported by Michael A. Fletcher of WashingtonPost.com.
• Hispanic Wages and Family Income Decline - A look at the decline of wages between 1989 and 1997.
• Hispanic Unemployment Issue Brief - A 1997 report detailing Hispanic unemployment.
• Positive Economic Indicators For Hispanics Reveal Opportunity To Focus On The Nation’s Working Poor - The study of a report that seems to contradict the other economic indicators.
• Creating Economic Opportunities For The Hispanic Community - Al Gore's page about the pending Hispanic prosperity.
• Economic Mobility News Releases - A series of studies about the economic state of Hispanicsin the US.
• Latino Business - Trade, finance, and professional resources for Latino business and professional education in the United States and Latin America.
• Hispanic Professionals - Professional Latino/Hispanic organizations for networking and promotion.

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