Asian voters have been called the, “new sleeping giant,” of American politics. Asians make up about 5 per cent of the US population, and their numbers are growing rapidly. But according to a recent study by researchers at UCLA, political participation by Asian Americans is significantly lower than the national average. Even so, both the Obama and McCain campaigns are reaching out to Asian voters. Lotus Chau, Chief Reporter at Sing Tao Daily in New York recently wrote brief profiles of two Asian American Democrats who have come to very different conclusions about Barack Obama’s candidacy.

For Brian Wang, a first-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention there is, “important symbolic meaning for the Asian community,” if Barack Obama becomes the first black president of United States. Wang, a lawyer from San Francisco, recalled the 1988 primary when his mother voted for Jessie Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination. Holding a Martin Luther King-style poster which said “Change and Progress” in Chinese, Wang recalled that his mother’s Chinese friends were upset by her support of Jackson. But, he said his mother responded to her friends, “If Jessie can be the president of this country, my son also can be the president one day. Voting minority gave me hope.” Brian said he followed the same path as his mother, supporting Obama and at the same time fulfilling his own dream.

Po-Ling Ng, the director of the Open Door Senior Center, was a Democratic delegate in 2004. She is a long-time supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and in 2000 supported Al Gore for president. This year she was invited to be a Democratic delegate form New York, but she refused the invitation. “Deep in my heart, I am not prepared for a black candidate as president of the country. I don’t want to spend my money and time to support someone not from the bottom of my heart. I prefer to step back and stay in New York,” she said.

A record 270 Asian American delegates attended this year’s Democratic National Convention. There appeared to be only a handful of Asian delegates at the Republican National Convention, although an exact count is not available. However, Asians are organizing on behalf of John McCain. James S. Cheng is a businessman from Virginia who is involved in efforts to build support for McCain among Asian Americans. I spoke with him about campaign strategy and the challenges facing the campaign.

Listen to an interview with James S. Cheng a strategy adviser to the Asian Americans for McCain Coalition.

[audio:http://www.jocelyngonzales.net/FI2W/fi2w_cheng.mp3]

Hispanic women are emerging as a sought-after voting bloc in the 2008 campaign. Like soccer moms, blue-collar workers, and union members, Latinas are increasingly being courted by the Democratic presidential candidates. New York Senator Hillary Clinton, in particular, is making a significant effort to reach out to Latina voters, and a non-partisan group, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, is conducting a voter registration drive aimed specifically at Latinas.

The growing importance of Hispanic women comes at a time when Latino voters – both men and women – have already demonstrated their pivotal role in primary elections in states including California, Texas, and New Mexico. Latinas are especially important because Hispanic women vote in greater numbers than Hispanic men and their decisions about which candidate to support have considerable influence among their family members, friends, and neighbors.

Feet in Two Worlds reporter Martina Guzmán recently visited Allentown, Pennsylvania, to report on grass-roots efforts to reach out to Latina voters before the Pennsylvania primary. In this Podcast Martina speaks with FI2W executive producer John Rudolph.

[audio:http://www.xrew.com/joceimgs/FI2W/fi2w_martina_0414.mp3]

Latino voters were pivotal in Hillary Clinton’s recent victories in Texas, California, and New Mexico. According to the Pew Hispanic Center exit polls show that, “Latinos accounted for at least 30% of the total votes cast in the Democratic primary (in those states), and Clinton outpolled Sen. Barack Obama among Latinos by a ratio of about two-to-one.”

When and how did Latino voters gain this level of political power? What are the implications for the rest of the primary campaign and the general election? What are GOP Senator John McCain’s chances of winning significant Latino support?

In this Podcast veteran journalist and Feet in Two Worlds reporter Pilar Marrero takes an in-depth look at these questions. Marrero is the senior political writer at La Opinión, the leading Spanish-Language daily in Los Angeles. In a conversation with FI2W executive producer John Rudolph, Marrero also discusses historical trends that have given Latino voters unprecedented clout at the ballot box this year.

[audio:http://www.xrew.com/joceimgs/FI2W/fi2w_pilar_0315.mp3]

Barack Obama is reaching out to Latino evangelical leaders as part of a broader strategy to win support for his presidential campaign among Latino voters.

The Illinois senator has invested significant resources in faith outreach, holding community faith forums and courting religious leaders in key primary states such as Texas and South Carolina.

Aswini Anburajan, a former Feet in Two Worlds reporter covering the Obama campaign for for NBC News/National Journal, and current Feet in Two Worlds journalist Lorenzo Morales of El Diario/La Prensa speak with FI2W executive producer John Rudolph about Obama’s faith-based campaign strategy.

They discuss his unique approach, its effectiveness and the issues that matter to evangelical Latino voters—many of which have little to do with church positions on abortion or same-sex marriage.

[audio:http://www.xrew.com/joceimgs/FI2W/fi2w_latinoevangelicals_0308.mp3]

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John Rudolph speaks with Ari Kagan, Senior Editor of Vecherniy, New York (Evening Time New York), a Russian-language weekly and Jehangir Khattak, bureau chief of Defence Journal, and a contributor to Pakistan News and Dawn, “Pakistan’s most widely circulated English language newspaper.” They sat down to discuss the outcome of the New Hampshire primary, and how Russian and Pakistani communities view the Democratic and Republican frontrunners.

[audio:http://www.xrew.com/joceimgs/FI2W/FI2W_Ari_and_Jehangir.mp3]

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