Mr McCain (L) accused Mr Obama of skipping tough immigration votes US presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain have both sought to win over a Hispanic civil rights group. Mr McCain, the Republican candidate, used his speech to La Raza to focus on his support for immigration reform. Mr Obama on Sunday outlined a plan to offer small firms a 50% tax credit for setting up health insurance programmes. In a speech on Monday to a black civil rights group, Mr Obama dismissed criticism that he had been "too tough" on black communities while campaigning. He told the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) that while the federal government should do more to help black Americans, they must also demand more of themselves. "Now I know some say I've been too tough on folks about this responsibility stuff," he said. "But I'm not going to stop talking about it." He urged black parents to provide the guidance their children needed and to do more for themselves, their families and their communities. 'Tough votes' Mr Obama's remarks at the NAACP annual conference followed a row last week after civil rights leader the Rev Jesse Jackson said he thought Mr Obama was "speaking down to black people", adding "I want to cut his nuts off". Mr Jackson, who did not know his comments were being picked up by a live microphone on US network Fox News, later apologised for his remarks. I do ask for your trust that when I say, I remain committed to fair, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, I mean it

John McCain During his speech at the La Raza conference on Sunday, Mr Obama accused Mr McCain of dropping his support for immigration reform during the Republican primaries, when it was costing him votes among party activists. Mr McCain, who courted unpopularity with Republican activists for his votes in favour of new "paths to citizenship" for illegal immigrants, told the audience that they could trust him when it comes to immigration policy. "I took my lumps for [voting in favour of immigration reform] without complaint," he said. "I do ask for your trust that when I say, I remain committed to fair, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, I mean it." And he accused Mr Obama of failing to consistently support congressional efforts to reform the immigration system. "Senator Obama declined to cast some of those tough votes," said Mr McCain. An AP-Yahoo News poll suggests that Mr Obama leads McCain among Hispanics, with 47% to the Arizona senator's 22%, and 26% undecided.



E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon What are these?