A Word From the Wize(ned)

Today I went to Spanish Harlem to get reactions from Latinos to last night’s speech by Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. While there, I decided to go into a senior's center where it looked like a group of people were gathered. Most of the elders were Puerto Rican, many of them residents in the US mainland for decades. Most are staunch Democrats, and practically all had voted for Hillary during the primary season. This is no surprise since Hillary is New York’s Senator, and most of the residents here have lived in New York for a long time.

The reactions were mixed. I asked them a few questions: Now that Hillary has asked her supporters to vote for Obama, how will you vote come November? Where you disappointed she was not selected for Vice President? Some told me they were true to their party, and would vote for the Democratic nominee. Others said that they were convinced by Hillary to fully support Obama and would work heart and soul on Barack’s campaign, and still others were unconvinced, and while none said they’d vote for McCain (perhaps the Democratic party's biggest fear), one told me she even contemplated “throwing away her vote” on election day.

From the reactions of that small test population however, it seems that Hillary did her job in getting most of those who supported her, including Latinos, to join ranks with the Obama camp to help elect the first African American president in US History.

Perhaps it’s their age, or perhaps it’s the fact that Puerto Ricans have been in the city for a few more generations than other Latino groups in New York or that immigrants from Puerto Rico enjoy instant citizenship status, but it was incredible how absolutely informed and passionate this group of seniors are about US politics. They knew the candidates, what was at stake, and perhaps most of all, they are all regular and frequent voters. This is a stark difference from other neighborhoods I’ve covered, like Washington Heights, where it is hard to find people who’d admit (on camera at least) their political views or people who are passionate about US politics vs. politics from their home country. I was able to get terrific and intelligent interviews for my story. It is always a toss up trying to get reactions from people in the streets. Many times they just don’t know or don’t care about the subject matter. Others will tell me something brilliant but as soon as the camera is turned on, they either run away or forget everything they just said. So it was great being able to get exactly what I needed from such an unlikely source- our senior citizens… Abuela apparently has more to say than we give her credit for ☺