Obama’s Latin Appeal
While watching Premio lo Nuestro on Thursday (a kind of viewer’s choice awards for Latin music), I was rather surprised to see our very own President Barack Obama deliver an introductory speech for the awards program. It was videotaped and he spook mainly in English, but the president got a rousing cheer from the crowd of entertainers afterward.
It’s just another example of how President Obama gets it—he understands the importance of simply acknowlegding events that are important to other cultures. The speech only lasted a minute (quite possible the shortest Obama speech to date), but the message will have a lasting impression on people who have felt isolated or marginalized by the United States. The PR doesn’t hurt either—the awards program was held in Miami and broadcast throughout Latin America, netting 13 million viewers.
And to think, just a few months ago people were throwing shoes at that other guy.
