Obama Woos Latinos, Attacks McCain on Immigration (Update1)

By Kim Chipman and Hans Nichols

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, working to win over Latino voters in New Mexico, attacked Republican rival John McCain's record and argued that his rival can't be trusted to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.

``Senator McCain used to buck his party by fighting for immigration reform and I admired him for it, Obama said last night at a rally in Albuquerque. ``But when he was running for his party's nomination, he changed his tune. How can you trust him to make sure we finally solve this problem instead of using it as a wedge issue?''

McCain and Obama, with less than two weeks until Election Day, are ramping up their attacks and pushing to woo key voters, including Latinos.

McCain also stumped in New Mexico yesterday, touting his experience as a senator from neighboring Arizona and claiming a better grasp of Latino issues than his opponent. McCain, who continues to trail Obama in national and some key swing state polls, said today he's confident he will close the gap.

``We're doing fine,'' McCain said today on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' program. ``We have closed in the last week. We'll continue to close next week. We're going to be up very late on election night.''

A Rasmussen Reports national tracking poll shows Obama leading McCain 52 percent to 44 percent while other surveys, such as one conducted by Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, show McCain only a few points behind.

Campaigning in Colorado

Obama will campaign all day in Colorado today as he continues to woo voters, particularly Latinos, in swing Rocky Mountain states.

``Latino community, you hold this election in your hands,'' Obama said last night at the Albuquerque rally. The event also featured New Mexico's Bill Richardson, the country's only Hispanic governor, and comedian George Lopez. The Democrat also urged New Mexico residents to vote early.

``In case you need any motivation -- Al Gore won New Mexico by 366 votes in 2000. John Kerry lost by less than 6,000 votes,'' Obama said, referring to the previous two Democratic presidential candidates.

New Mexico's Hispanic population will account for more than 40 percent of the state's voters, according to Simon Rosenberg of NDN, a Democratic group in Washington.

The Obama campaign sent a release saying the event had a turnout of about 45,000 people compared with McCain's crowd. The Republican candidate drew about 1,400 people, according to Mark Salter, a senior McCain adviser.

Anchorage Daily News

Obama aides also are touting the Anchorage Daily News's endorsement of the Democratic nominee over McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

The newspaper, in making its endorsement yesterday, said Obama ``brings far more promise to the office.''

``In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand,'' according to the newspaper's editorial. ``The same cannot be said of Senator McCain.''

Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, pledged yesterday to protect the U.S. borders and crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers, while also ensuring that the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in this country are provided a path to citizenship.

Failed Bill

Those proposals were part of a failed immigration bill that McCain co-sponsored with Senator Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat. The bill was stopped last year when Senate supporters, including Obama, garnered just 46 of the 60 votes needed to conclude debate and proceed to final passage.

Obama accused McCain of not standing up to Republicans on immigration.

``When it was time to write his party's platform, comprehensive immigration reform never made it in,'' Obama said. ``If Senator McCain won't stand up to the opponents of reform at his own convention, how is he going to stand up for it when he's president?''

McCain has previously said that Obama worked to undermine the legislation by proposing an amendment that would have required that a merit-based evaluation system for immigrants be subject to renewal after five years.

``It's a fact'' the amendment, which failed 42-55, would have doomed the bill, McCain said in July.

Obama yesterday also continued to pitch his claim that McCain represents the ``failed'' economic policies of President George W. Bush. The Illinois senator mocked what he described as McCain's attempts to distance himself from Bush.

``It's like Robin getting mad at Batman,'' Obama said. ``John McCain hasn't been a maverick. He's been a sidekick when it comes to George Bush's economic policies.''

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