Obama is perhaps the most divisive President in modern U.S. history. The country is in severe economic crisis -- history books will someday call this the Obama Great Depression. Yet our President doesn’t see fit to deal with the economy in general. He doesn’t make big announcements to save Americans in general. He doesn’t have a plan to create jobs for all Americans. Because for Obama it isn't about America...or the economy...or jobs. It's all about cold, hard, heartless politics.
Obama sees politics as divided by race. Everything he does is about division. Obama divides rich vs. poor (with his Buffett bill and proposed massive tax hikes on the rich), black vs. white (with his Trayvon comments), gay vs. straight (with his gay marriage announcement), women vs. men (with his demand that women receive free contraception from private insurers). And Obama’s newest “minority of the month announcement” was Friday’s policy aimed at illegal immigrants, particularly young Latinos.
Undocumented young immigrants will no longer face deportation under Obama. This cynical ploy comes only days before both Obama and Romney will be addressing one of the most important and high profile Latino organizations in the country -- the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Orlando.
To Obama this isn’t about saving the U.S. economy or restoring America’s place as the greatest nation in the world. It’s about pure cynical politics. It’s about doing anything, saying anything, offering any bribe in order to be re-elected. He desperately needs the next four years to finish what he started -- the destruction of capitalism, the demonization of the wealthy, the capitulation of the private sector.
But two can play at this game. In the interest of full disclosure, I am the Chairman of the Libertarian National Campaign Committee. This isn't an endorsement. I am making a recommendation as a political pundit, analyst, and strategist only. With that revelation out of the way, here is my unsolicited advice to Mr. Romney for how you put the election away…this week. If Presidential politics is a chess game, then it’s time to checkmate Obama. And the perfect place to do that is in Orlando at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference.
Obama believes he has “checked” Romney with Latino voters with his latest announcement. He will walk on the stage in Orlando to a thunderous hero’s welcome. He will discuss how Latino youth brought illegally to this country, through no fault of their own, will no longer have to lie awake at night fearing deportation to a strange country they no longer recognize. And he we will receive a standing ovation.
Mitt Romney must walk onto that same stage and upstage Obama. This is the place and time for the announcement of the year. Mitt Romney coolly steps up to the microphone and says, “It’s time for a Latino to join a Presidential ticket. It’s time for the fastest growing group in America to have a seat at the table of power. To have a voice in the White House. Today…right here…right now…I’m going to change the game…forever. Today you get your seat at the table. Today we change American politics…forever. Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce my Vice Presidential running mate United States Senator Marco Rubio." Marco walks out to embrace Mitt Romney while the crowd stands, screams, and cheers! Tears stream down cheeks.
CHECKMATE.
Obama’s announcement is instantly forgotten. It is an afterthought. The news media changes the headlines for tomorrow’s papers. It’s no longer about Obama’s love affair with the Latino community. It’s no longer about adulation for Obama’s new immigration policy. The headlines tonight on the evening news…tomorrow in the newspapers…for weeks on the Internet…are about Romney picking the first Latino Vice Presidential running mate in history.
Obama is out of the news. Obama has been upstaged in front of one of his most important groups of supporters. No matter what Obama says that day…or any other day to Latinos…Marco Rubio is the elephant in the room of U.S. politics.
Obama is fast losing his grip on the Presidency and he knows it. Obama’s lead is slipping with Latinos, blacks, Jews, women -- as the Obama economy worsens and the jobs picture darkens, every group in this country is losing faith in Obama. His announcement about immigration last week was out of desperation just to hold onto Latino votes. Obama is running scared. He is no longer fighting for new voters. He's desperately trying to hold onto his most loyal voters. When you can't even count on your home turf as an advantage, the game is slipping away.
Here are a few bonus points that come with Rubio's selection as V.P. Romney is white bread with mayonnaise. He needs youth, razzle dazzle, energy, charisma, and enthusiasm. He needs color. Rubio adds all of that to the ticket. He changes the dynamic of the entire Presidential race. He shakes things up. He throws Obama a curve that he may never recover from. Although my prediction is that days later Obama would counter by dumping Biden and adding Hillary Clinton to the ticket. It’s his only move, after he is put in a corner and forced to answer Romney’s devastating chess move.
Romney has never been a favorite of the crucial Tea Party. The Tea Party just saved Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. The Tea Party just defeated Indiana Senator Richard Lugar. The Tea Party is the energy of the GOP. Take the Tea Party out of the equation and Romney becomes Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, and John McCain wrapped into one. Rubio changes all that. Rubio is a Tea Party favorite. He energizes the Tea Party. Rubio brings Tea Party voters to the polls in droves.
Finally Rubio locks down Florida. No scenario on earth allows the GOP to win the election without Florida. Rubio is the piece of the puzzle that hands Florida’s electoral votes to Romney. Having Rubio on the ticket also adds a minimum 5% to 10% more Latino votes nationwide -- a boon in crucial states with big Latino populations like Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Obama made his chess move on Friday. Here is Romney’s chance to counter and end the game. CHECKMATE.