When a Spanish-language radio ad slammed presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama for just discovering the "importance of the Latino vote," his campaign called on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to knock the attack down.
Villaraigosa issued a public statement praising Obama as a "champion of the Latino community" who was "fighting for our families" and then delivered the same glowing message when he addressed two of the nation's most prestigious Latino civil rights organizations.
The mayor's ascension as an Obama pitchman, while intriguing because of Villaraigosa's support of rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Democratic primary, is a move that promises to work to the political advantage of both men.
Whether reality or mere perception, the specter of a smoldering animosity between blacks and Latinos is an issue that both Obama and Villaraigosa treat with great care as they preside over the multiracial coalitions essential to their political success.
Villaraigosa, one of the nation's most prominent Latino politicians, can help Obama by unleashing his bilingual charms to help win over a Latino electorate that voted overwhelmingly for Clinton in the primaries.
With his historic candidacy and tight embrace from African American voters, Obama helps Villaraigosa cast himself as a coalition builder in the mold of five-term Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who was the city's first black mayor and was best known for his ability to unify the fractious city.
Villaraigosa's increased support among black voters was a critical factor in his defeat of former Mayor James K. Hahn in 2005, but that support has vacillated. Villaraigosa has been praised for the diversity of his administration, for a drop in violent crime and for working with community leaders to stimulate the economy of South L.A.
But he was criticized by black leaders for the way he handled a racially charged lawsuit filed by a black firefighter who was fed dog food by colleagues. And black leaders were leery of his attempted takeover of Los Angeles' public schools.
Those actions by the mayor rekindled doubts that some black voters had about Villaraigosa, who campaigned to unite the city as well as create jobs, improve schools and provide better city services to neglected black neighborhoods, said Jackie Dupont-Walker, a leader at Ward AME Church in South L.A.
"There was always some question on how he was going to deliver on the promises. Will you show you are who you say you are?" Walker said.
