Gore Pledges to Expand Latino Success

Vice President Al Gore told Latino leaders Friday that he would work to expand opportunities for their families, both in the classroom and the workplace, while improving health care for Americans of all backgrounds.

His brief speech, given at the 71st national convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens, drew bursts of applause from the energetic audience, which cheered the loudest when Gore honored the military service of Alfred Rascon and praised the Latino community’s contributions to America’s armed forces.

Rascon, the current inspector general for the Selective Service, was nearly killed while using his body as a shield for other wounded soldiers in Vietnam. He received the Medal of Honor at the White House earlier this year.

“Too many people are unaware just how much the Latino community has given to keep America free,” said Gore, himself a Vietnam War veteran. “The values and virtues that are at the heart of the Latino experience--honor and responsibility, faith and family, caring and community--these are the same values that keep America strong.”

In keeping with his monthlong “progress and prosperity” campaign theme, Gore highlighted the country’s booming economy and the strides Latinos have made under the current administration. He noted the unemployment rate, which is at an all-time low of 5.4% for Latino families, and the unprecedented increase in their median income, which rose 15% over the last three years.

“We set our hands to a time of recession and doubt, and built it into a time of prosperity and progress,” said Gore, who wore a tuxedo as he stood at a lectern in the Omni Shoreham Hotel ballroom. “We’ve got 22 million new jobs . . . the longest period of economic growth in all of American history.”

Echoing a favorite campaign phrase, Gore added: “But I say to you tonight: Todavia no han visto nada. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

The likely Democratic nominee for president said he supports a prescription drug benefit for seniors under Medicare and vowed to bring affordable health care access to every child in the country by the end of the next presidential term.

On education, Gore called for universal preschool for all 3-year-olds and noted the importance of improving schools and adding teachers so that every student will graduate from high school “ready to succeed.”

The message was met with enthusiasm by most LULAC members, who expressed hope that the booming economy would continue under Gore’s leadership. “What he is speaking about makes sense,” said Luis Morales of Arizona. “There is an old saying I strongly believe in, and that is, ‘If it is not broke, do not fix it.’ ”

Still, some LULAC members, who heard Texas Gov. George W. Bush earlier this week, were less convinced.

“I liked what the vice president has to say, yes,” said Rosa Ana Alvarez of Texas. “But I am intrigued by my governor’s approach too. It’s nice to see the Republicans listening to us for a change.”

Like Bush, Gore sprinkled his speech with Spanish phrases and punctuated it with an invitation to help him better the lives of Latinos and all Americans. Both candidates have been making a determined outreach to the nation’s fastest-growing minority, which will make its biggest dent in electorate votes in four key states: Texas, Florida, California and New York.

“If you believe we can unleash the promise of every young Latino in this nation, not just on the fields of battle but in every field of endeavor, then join me,” Gore said.

Gore did not respond to Bush’s plan to split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies, which the governor presented to LULAC members Monday. Bush has said the INS sends mixed signals to immigrants, and he supports having one agency to welcome immigrants and another to provide border enforcement.

Gore aides have said the vice president rejects the notion of creating another bureaucracy and would rather streamline the INS to be more “customer friendly.”

But many members of LULAC, the nation’s oldest and largest Latino organization, quickly embraced the idea by Bush, who has narrowed Gore’s lead among Latino voters by 6 more percentage points within a week, according to a Knight Ridder poll released Friday.

Associated Press reported that Gore led the Republican by 16 percentage points in Knight Ridder’s national poll of Latinos, 50% to 34%. But Gore was getting less support than President Clinton had in either one of his two presidential races.

The poll of more than 2,700 Latino registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. There are 7.1 million Latino voters in the country, with roughly 2.1 million in California.

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Times researcher Massie Ritsch contributed to this story.