JUSIPER

 
2008: a year of firsts for Bill Clinton

Posted by Sini

This was the first campaign in which he was called a racist. And today, a new one. He's boring:

"You might actually determine this election," he told the crowd in Barceloneta. "If you vote for [Hillary] and give her a big margin, she'll be the nominee and she will always honor your support."

But on Monday, the culture gap between Clinton and Puerto Ricans, who were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917, sometimes seemed insurmountable. When Clinton walked into the rally in Barceloneta, he sat on a stage and listened as four local politicians introduced him in Spanish. One introducer, among 18 local politicians at the event, turned away from the microphone and looked back at Clinton, eager to interpret for him.

"When I say 'presidente,' " the mayor said, "that means I'm talking about you."

Clinton flashed a thumbs-up and smiled wanly, but he looked distracted during the Spanish speeches. Then he walked to the microphone, shielding his eyes against the 90-degree sun. He rattled off a thank-you list of Spanish names and mispronounced two of them.

As about 1,000 people crowded under white awnings to escape the heat, Clinton proceeded to give a jargon-heavy speech in English about health care and energy efficiency. Nobody interpreted, and only a handful of audience members seemed to understand him. The crowd -- raucous and dancing a few minutes earlier -- remained mostly silent during the 10-minute speech. Some people left. Others chatted on their cellphones.

"What is he saying? Do we clap now?" asked Jerry Nieves Rosario, a college student who speaks only Spanish. "If I had known about this, maybe I would have stayed home."

Anticipating that kind of reaction, local advisers spent the past week offering Hillary Clinton's campaign a crash course in Puerto Rican politics. More than 80 percent of registered voters usually turn out for local elections here, and big political rallies held in stadium parking lots routinely attract more than 130,000, local politicians said. During mayoral campaigns, candidates often walk door to door while carrying boomboxes, dancing to music while meeting voters.

By the way, I don't recall ever having seen a politician carrying a boombox in Puerto Rico. Hats off to the ingenious local for fooling the Washington Post's gringo reporter into printing that one.

12:55 AM |