John McCain, the leader in race for the white house

Dr. Jorge Hugo Garcia

La Prensa Hispana

With the suspension of the Mitt Romney presidential campaign, the path was cleared for Super Tuesday winner, McCain. Romney, the most glib and presidential looking of all the candidates is certainly still destined to be a force of leadership. Romney has not by a long shot hurt his future political opportunities. On the contrary, he has garnered a new admiration destined to propel him to a higher office. With McCain becoming more likely to be the Republican nominee for the presidential race, it does create an enticing opportunity for the Latino vote to become increasingly relevant.

There is a clear choice between McCain, a candidate who has a vision for securing our borders first before immigration and a candidate who seems destined to continue the long tradition of “pandering” for the Latino vote while doing absolutely nothing to address a hot, vital issue.

Latinos need to be reminded it was Republican, Ronald Reagan who gave them their last break. Millions of Latino families can vote today because of Ronald Reagan. Many young adults today have Ronald Reagan to thank for the fact they and their parents are citizens.

No one can dispute, even among Latinos, securing the borders of the United States is a primary concern and must come first in order to resolve the immigration catastrophe. Undocumented residents in the United States must be identified and must be sent through the application process to become legal residents or citizens.

As the cliché it has become, the idea is to “send them to the back of the line,” hard liners prefer on the other side of the fence. What must be made abundantly clear is the fact “there is no line on either side”, there is only chaos. A bureaucratic nightmare made of paperwork and fees where everybody must continually “come back tomorrow”.

America must address the issue as difficult as it has become because it goes hand in hand with terrorism and the economy. It is a triad, immigration, terrorism and the economy are inseparable. As unbelievable as it is, McCain seems to be the only presidential candidate who understands that.

Latinos who represent the largest segment of veterans/military service in relation to their population and the largest recipients of the Medal of Honor in relation to their population want a leader who will defend what Latinos have been defending since the United States became the United States; Defend America as the homeland it has become for all of us.

Latinos have the opportunity to support a leader who has addressed immigration, terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economic consequences of all four head on.

McCain still has a long road ahead of him but as his biography has shown, McCain is no quitter and at this juncture of American history, McCain, the prisoner of war who refused to be released without the others, gives Latinos, a lot to think about!.