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• Monday, June 2, 2008 06:00 AM

  This is basic, guys

  In America, politics are geographically oriented. You cannot use labels like "ALL" when drawing comparisons among voting blocks unless they are in this context.

  P.R. was a blow to Obama, but no one can say that their interests and voting habits suggest what Mexicans in CA, PR's in Philly, or Cubans in FL, or Dominicans in NYC will do. This is not - as GOP people on this board seem to think - a monolithic block that all vote the same way. These groups differ greatly on many issues.

  Obama has challenges with Hispanics to be sure - but in the case of Puerto Rico you have a population that largely does not follow US politics. They get 90% turnout for local elections and pitiful turnout for national. Break the code. Hillary did very well because of the time and effort she put in, and the brand recognition she has. And anyone who has been to Puerto Rico since 1600 AD could tell you that there is some racial uneasiness there on the part of its residents.

  So too, all this nonsense about "Catholics". That a Kentucky or West Virginia Catholic indicates how he'll do with Boston Catholics. Or with East L.A. Mexican Catholics. That is silly.

  Any analysis or statement that ignores geography as the primary point - one that deals with economics, culture, industry, etc. - misses the point. So Obama struggles in the South and square states that always go for the GOP. Is that a shocker? McCain would beat Hillary in these same states.

  Because its all about regional politics and infrastructure.

  And stop the "who is meaner" argument. It is childish and boring.

  —HP Read HP's other letters
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