Reach Out and Touch Someone

Who will win the Latino vote in 2012?

Virtually any time President Obama has opened his mouth in public this month, it has been to talk about the debt ceiling. On Monday, he shifts his focus — at least for an hour — to address the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the country.

It's the latest effort in the president's intense campaign to win the hearts and minds of Latinos. In the White House, he has met with Hispanic celebrities, activists and policy groups for summits, lunches and parties.

Last month, Obama became the first sitting president since John F. Kennedy to make an official visit to Puerto Rico.

The month before that, the president delivered what was billed as a major immigration speech on the U.S.-Mexico border. The policy proposals were not dramatically new, but this attack on Republicans for blocking comprehensive immigration reform was:

"You know, they said we needed to triple the Border Patrol. Now they're going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol, or they'll want a higher fence. Maybe they'll need a moat — maybe they want alligators in the moat."

But some Latinos still don't feel that Obama has done enough. "It was at our annual conference at [the National Council of La Raza] when he was a candidate that he did make a promise that comprehensive immigration reform would be an absolute top priority," says Janet Murguia, La Raza's president and CEO. "And I think it's been disappointing for many of us in the Latino community."

When President Obama speaks to women's groups, or gay and lesbian audiences, he can point to a list of things his administration has accomplished for those communities. He can tell Latino groups that he appointed the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

But beyond that, there's a long list of unfinished business. Republicans see an opportunity to make inroads into the fastest-growing minority group in the country.

But will they take advantage of the opportunity? I'm not holding my breath...